Land-based salmon farm ‘ahead of schedule’

Land-based fish farmer Andfjord Salmon announced today that construction work at its land-based salmon farming facility at Kvalnes on the island of Andøya is progressing faster than planned, which executives believe significantly reduces the risk associated with the project.

Andfjord Salmon, which has successfully harvested a crop of salmon produced in a proof-of-concept pilot pool, is currently developing its facility and aims for an initial production capacity of 8,000 tonnes (HOG) from 2025.

The company will grow fish in flow-through pools excavated into the island’s bedrock. It aims to achieve a total production capacity of 40,000 tonnes through a gradual increase in capacity between 2025 and 2030.

The excavation in the current construction phase has now reached 60% completion. The first of the two planned rows of pools, housing a total of six pools, has already been excavated. Work is now taking place to dig out the adjacent second row of pools.

Reduced risk

“We are pleased with the progress with the pool digging, which is ahead of schedule. This gives flexibility to our plan, which helps to reduce the risk associated with the entire construction project,” said chief executive Martin Rasmussen.

Andfjord Salmon is using the material excavated from the pools and new waterways in the development of a new harbour at Kvalnes.

Every day, as many as 300 dump truck loads are transported from the excavation site to the port area. The excavated material will be used to develop a quay and a jetty, reducing both the operating costs and the CO₂ emissions associated with the construction project.

According to the company, both the work on the harbour area and the waterways are proceeding as planned.

Land-based fish farmer Andfjord Salmon made £2.8m from its first harvest

Land-based salmon farmer achieved 97.5% survival with first crop

Andfjord focuses on growing capacity instead of fish