Wellboat fish handling supplier nets order for world’s biggest trout RAS
Fish handling equipment specialist MMC First Process has signed an agreement for delivery of a fish logistics system to Hima Seafood’s 9,000-tonne-per-year land-based trout farm in the in-land town of Rjukan in the Telemark region of Norway.
The project will be the world’s largest recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) trout facility, and MMC First Process will be responsible for supplying equipment and technology for moving live fish in the installation.
The technology contributed by MMC First Process is based on systems assembled and developed during three decades of experience supplying the wellboat industry and land-based aquaculture.
Gentle handling
Heidi Kyvik, chief business development officer for Hima’s turnkey contractor Eyvi AS, said the company chose MMC First Process because of the significant optimisation the company has achieved in fish transfer technology and its expertise in handling live fish gently.
“These are important criteria, both for fish welfare and for successful land-based farming of fish for consumption. This installation will be a shop window for us and for the whole industry, so it is obviously important to choose a partner who can bring us extensive experience and a history of reliable fish handling,” said Kyvik in a press release.
Børre Haanes Waagan, sales director for land-based aquaculture in MMC First Process, said: “The contract enables us to bring out into the open a fish logistics system that provides gentle handling for every individual live fish. The system is designed so that Hima Seafood can transport and sort fish whenever required, optimising fish welfare and allowing the full production capacity of the plant to be utilised.
'Like running a hotel'
“Land-based aquaculture can be compared with running a hotel, where well-being and full occupancy give the best results, and this is exactly what we are facilitating for Hima Seafood in Rjukan.”
MMC’s chief scientific officer fish handling Frank Edvard Vike said it is a joy to see long-running products like crowding grids and tower silos, previously supplied for wellboats and small land-based plants, now being delivered for a full-scale land-based aquaculture customer.
“These systems mean we are being taken seriously when fish welfare is an important factor. We passionately believe that the collaboration now started with Eyvi AS will also open new opportunities, including Hima Seafood’s enterprise in the United States,” said Vike.
