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AKVA, Vikings Label sign Middle East RAS deal

Aquaculture technology supplier AKVA Group has landed a lucrative deal to design a number of land-based salmon farms in the Middle East.

The Norwegian company announced today that its AKVA Group Land Based division has entered into a design and cooperation agreement with Dubai-based Vikings Label.

The Scandinavian company is a relatively new. It started by importing salmon into Dubai. In late 2018, the company expressed plans to enter the land-based farming industry.

Vikings envisions a 50,000-ton RAS compound sustainably producing locally-consumed fish species in the middle of a desert. The project will also include a research center, education center, a feed mill and an algae plant.

Morten Malle, chief technology officer of Vikings Label said his company decided to partner with AKVA because of the firm’s extensive experience in recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) technology.

“For Vikings it has been important to get an experienced and solid technology partner onboard, and AKVA group is a partner who shares Vikings vision for sustainable aquaculture,” he said. “Only a few RAS suppliers have long-term experience in the design, construction, and operation of modern land-based fish farming in this region, AKVA group being one of them.”

“It is a challenge to build successful aquaculture projects in the Middle East and you really need to have a strong entity working tightly together. Many things are done differently in this region, often in ways we do not face on home grounds,”said Jacob Bregnballe, sales director of AKVA Group Land Based .”In our new working relationship with Vikings we believe we have an excellent and ambitious team.