Nova Sea has signed a partnership agreement with FishGlobe to create one of the latter company’s closed-containment salmon farms.
Nova Sea announced plans to build the largest variant of FishGlobe’s closed-containment system, the “FishGlobe 30K,” in close cooperation with the company. Nova Sea will also take over two of FishGlobe’s development licenses.
According to Nova Sea, this will be the first full-scale variant of FishGlobe’s closed-containment aquaculture system.
“FishGlobe has worked well on the development of the technology for several years and currently has two small globes in full operation with post-smolt production in Rogaland, and we believe that a full-scale test at a suitable location in our region will yield good results,” Nova Sea Business Development Manager Tormod Skålsvik said in a release.
FishGlobe’s closed-containment aquaculture system pulls in deeper water to circulate in the farm, which Nova Sea said should help eliminate the problem of sea lice. The deeper water will also be warmer in the winter, which should contribute to “improved fish welfare.”
The closed-containment system will also help eliminate any sludge buildup on the ocean floor, and the company said that it is considering a “circular utilization” of the sludge that accumulates inside the system by processing it at its sludge-processing plant in Helgeland.
FishGlobe Managing Director and Co-Owner Tor Hellestøl said the company has been looking for a long-term development partner to realize the full potential of its full-size FishGlobe 30K closed-containment salmon farm.
“We are incredibly proud that such a reputable company as Nova Sea comes in and becomes a partner for this project,” he said. “Nova Sea has impressed us in every way from the first time we met, and we look forward to working with them in the future.”
For Nova Sea, the new system could be a way for the company to handle many of the challenges of open-net pen salmon farming – including sea lice and outbreaks of contagious illnesses like ISA.
“For us, fish health is the most important thing,” Nova Sea CEO Tom Eirik Aasjord said. “We aim to have the country’s healthiest farmed fish and the highest survival rate. Therefore, it is always important for us to participate in the development of new production technologies that can contribute to better protection for the fish and teach us to master new production methods in addition to conventional farming.”
The move toward a closed containment system sees Nova Sea joining other Norwegian salmon-farming companies like SalMar, which is trialing the “Marine Donut.” Developed by Bluegreen, the 600-metric-ton fish farm was developed to solve similar problems as FishGlobe 30K by recirculating water and minimizing the issues that come with open-net pens.
