Three-day hatching for Benchmark’s flagship salmon egg facility

The site, which the company says is the world’s most advanced land-based salmon egg production facility, is located in Sørfold in northern Norway.

It has the capacity to produce 150 million eggs annually, which is the equivalent of approximately half a million tonnes of harvested salmon. The site is designed to hold stock from egg to final mature broodfish, resulting in the highest standards of biosecurity in the industry.

‘Important milestone’

In a press release, Jan-Emil Johannessen, head of Benchmark Genetics, said: “The opening of our new facility in Salten is a very important milestone for Benchmark which will allow us to capitalise on our leading market position in salmon genetics and the favourable long-term market trends in the industry.

“Producing on land means that we are in complete control of the spawning season and thereby able to supply our customers with high-quality salmon eggs every week of the year produced in an environment with the highest standards of biosecurity.”

The opening event will begin next Monday, May 21, with a closed seminar on how breeding and genetics can contribute to the sustainable growth of the aquaculture industry.

Norwegian energy minister

The facility will be officially opened the following day by Kjell-Børge Freiberg, Norway’s petroleum and energy minister, and will be followed by a tour of the site, cultural entertainment and talks from a variety of speakers including Benchmark’s chief executive, Malcolm Pye.

The event will conclude on May 23 with a full-day seminar with customers focusing on genetics, production and product innovation.

The Benchmark Genetics division includes SalmoBreed AS and Icelandic salmon egg producer StofnFiskur HF, along with Akvaforsk Genetics Center AS, Spring Genetics and Genética Spring.

The companies in the division are fully owned by the UK-listed aquaculture biology and technology innovator Benchmark Holdings plc.