August 12, 2024

 

Norwegian aquaculture firm SIFT debuts novel RAS concept

 

Norwegian aquaculture company SIFT Group has successfully piloted its novel recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) concept, which utilises super-intensive farming technology (SIFT).

 

"We had a pilot license to produce 20 metric tons [MT] of salmon smolts weighing one kilogramme in our pilot unit and grew 4,000 salmon in each of three batches," SIFT chief executive officer and founder Torbjørn Trondsen told SeafoodSource. "After each batch, we adjusted the technology and kept testing the biological parameters until we were happy that we had optimised the system. We have now filed a European patent for SIFT."

 

The SIFT system features eco- and animal-friendly, vertically stacked, shallow raceways, in which water is constantly circulated to mimic a fast-moving stream. The test units were similarly sized to the industrial standard for turbot and sole farming in Europe.

 

"The system has been designed to emphasise fish welfare, with optimised temperature and oxygen levels, water purification at each raceway level, and controlled water flow," Trondsen added. "The continuous cleaning system removes waste particles, toxic gasses, and metabolites."

 

An essential aspect of the trials was finding the optimum density of salmon that the company could grow in such a system.

 

"We were able to stock to a density of 200 kilogrammes per cubic meter, which is double that of land-based salmon farms using deep tanks. By the end of the trials, we had achieved 230 kilogrammes per cubic meter," Trondsen said.

 

The system was designed and built in-house, employing knowledge from the team's various backgrounds in science and engineering. The company also worked closely with an engineering, manufacturing, and factory installation company that could interpret SIFT's needs and which is now qualified to deliver components and complete SIFT systems globally.

 

"Our raceway system is energy-efficient because the tanks' design entails minimal pumping requirements, which reduces the energy requirement," Trondsen said.

 

Following the pilot, SIFT is now planning a commercial demonstration unit capable of producing 2,500 MT of one-kilogramme salmon per year. Upon obtaining full approval for a governmental license for the demonstration unit, SIFT then aims to grow 6,000 MT to 8,000 MT of three- to five-kilogramme salmon per year.

 

With these short-term goals in mind, SIFT has its long-term sights set on scaling up and has available land in Tromsø, Norway, to develop production up to 30,000 MT to 40,000 MT per year beyond the capacity the demonstration unit is slated for, all of which requires governmental approval.

- SeafoodSource