A hole new concept in cages
Marine Harvest has applied for eight development licenses for test and development of a new type of closed-containment cage – called the Marine Donut – which has been created by ØPD.
The escape-proof construction will be used to grow fish from 3 kg to slaughter – the time when they are most susceptible to lice.
“This is brand new and very exciting technology. With this concept, the Marine Harvest that we really want to develop the way we produce salmon. Our goal is to make healthy and tasty food on a more sustainable and cost effective manner,” comments Alf-Helge Aarskog, CEO of Marine Harvest.
The company hopes to begin construction of the cage this fall and plans to stock fish in autumn 2017.
"Marine Donut responds to challenges the industry faces today. The closed units mean that we have complete control of the salmon's environment. We can keep the salmon completely free of lice and can collect the nutritious faeces. We are confident that the innovative donut shape will contribute to good fish health and welfare,” says ØPD’s CEO, Nils Johan Tufte.
The Director of Marine Harvest Northern Region, Roberta L Solheim, is looking forward to testing the technology.
“We see that it is most difficult to keep big fish free of lice, and are keen to test the closed-containment technologies during the last period before slaughter. It is therefore very interesting to follow this project forward,” says Solheim.
The donut is designed to be used in the fjords, but can also be placed at exposed locations. This provides opportunities to use land that currently is not in use for aquaculture purposes.
