MiniEgg heads north to begin fish growth trial
The trial version of a floating closed containment salmon farm has begun a 600-kilometre journey to the location where it will be used for growing fish to provide proof of concept.
The 21-metre high “MiniEgg” is a smaller version of Norwegian sustainability-focused aquaculture development company Hauge Aqua’s Egg, which will be 44 metres high and have 10 times the volume of the MiniEgg’s 1,850 m³.
The MiniEgg was constructed for Hauge Aqua subsidiary Ovum AS by lifeboat maker Herde Kompositt at its facility in Ølve on the shore of Norway’s famous Hardangerfjord.
It has been loaded on to a barge and is being towed north to Gjermundnes in Romdalsfjord in Møre og Romsdal county, where Hauge Aqua has obtained permission to use a so-called “dark green” salmon farming permit. Dark green permits have the strictest requirements for sea lice management and reducing risk of escapes.
A proud moment
The farm will be operated by Prophylaxia AS, a company majority owned by Alsco AS, the investment vehicle of Johan Andreassen and Bjørn-Vegard Løvik, who founded US-based on-land salmon farmer Atlantic Sapphire.
Herde Kompositt announced yesterday that the MiniEgg had been officially handed over to Hauge Aqua and had started its journey up the coast.
“We at Herde Kompositt are proud to have delivered a successful project,” the company said on LinkedIn.
“Now we are going to take a well-deserved summer vacation and then new exciting projects await us when we return. Thanks to the great team at Hauge Aqua for the assignment! We wish the MiniEgg good luck on the journey.”
