Oslo, Norway-based aquaculture company Cermaq has begun using a new pen equipped with new technology to prevent its salmon from becoming infested with sea lice.
The company has transferred the first smolt to its new closed containment system in Horsvågen, Norway, which the salmonid producer said has been built to provide maximum bio-security and fish welfare.
“We have been working on this project for a long time, and we are happy that we now are ready to put fish into the pen,” said Frode Holmvaag, manager seawater Nordland at Cermaq Norway. “This is new technology to us, and it will be very interesting to follow the growth and development of the fish in the new containment system.”
With a circumference of 120 meters and a production capacity of 400 metric tons (MT), Cermaq claims that it is the world’s largest closed cage using flexible walls.
Water is pumped into the pen from 13 meters depth, preventing sea lice from entering the pen. The tarp wall is made of strong and flexible composite, which minimizes escape risk.
The Horsvågen system has been constructed in partnership with Botngaard AS and Serge Ferrari. It is certified for locations with a wave height of two meters and can be used at most existing sea sites.
“The delivery and start up of the closed cage in Horsvågen mark a milestone for Botngaard and our development program for closed cages. We will now work together with Cermaq and our industry partners to further improve the technology and daily operations of the cage,” said Magnus Stendal, system delivery manager at Botngaard.
Serge Ferrari, world leader in innovative flexible materials, has developed the membrane wall that makes the containment system flexible and safe.
“After six years spent on R&D on various topics such as non-toxic formulation, as little elongation as possible and excellent lifetime, Serge Ferrari has come up with a new membrane dedicated to flexible closed cages: our Biobrane Aqua 2050. This highly secure fabric gives security against fish escape, more than ever,” said Gabriel Faysse, market manager environment and energy at Serge Ferrari.
Cermaq will now cooperate with groups of scientists to optimize the system.
“There are still a lot of things we don’t know about closed containment systems. We see that closed containment systems in the ocean can play an important role in the aquaculture industry in the future, but it still requires further development,” said Harald Takle, R&D manager farming technology at Cermaq. “This is why we have applied for development licenses with the FlexiFarm concept, which takes closed containment systems a giant step further as it will include cost-effective water treatment against infections and allow harvest size production in more exposed areas."
