October 23, 2019

World's first geothermal RAS system opens in Iceland

Iceland's largest aquaculture breeding and hatchery centre has opened in the west of the country, 400 kilometres from the capital Reykjavik. The plant uses geothermal heat and is only water recovery operation of its type in the world, the Fish Farmer reported.

The US$32-million Arctic Fish-owned facility covers 10,000 square metres near the small fishing harbour of Tálknafjörður, where the company is currently engaged in a major expansion of its salmon farming operations.

Managing director of the centre, Sigurður Pétursson, said that the land-based period is likely to be longer than the marine period, with fish grown to at least 200 grams before transfer to sea.

"This will shorten the time in the sea and the intention is that the salmon will only be one winter in the sea, but not two at present."

Arctic Fish, which is part-owned by Norway Royal Salmon (NRS), made company history recently when it shipped its first consignment of tariff-free salmon to China, using the established NRS distribution network in the Far East.

The opening comes just a year after Arctic Fish and another Icelandic salmon farming company, Arnarlax, had their licences revoked following objections from various conservation groups. Those licences have since been restored and are valid for at least a decade.

The new aquaculture centre will create several new jobs in an area of the country that has lost much of its traditional fishing activities.

Arctic Fish also has a farming operation at nearby Patreksfjordur. Together, the two centres will harvest up to 17,500 tonnes of salmon a year.