RASTECH Magazine

Industry update News Technology
Andfjord expects 10,000 MT output for Kvalnes facility

May 4, 2020  By  Nestor Arellano



If all goes according to plan, Andfjord Salmon hopes to introduce the first batch of smolt into pool pits of its land-based aquaculture facility in Kvalnes, Norway by late summer this year.

The six-year-old company said the project, which involves the construction of large pool pits below sea level in quarries in Andøya Island, is more than 60 per cent completed. Andøya  is the northernmost island in the Vesterålen archipelago, situated about 300 kilometres inside the Arctic circle.

While many aquaculture operations across the globe have been heavily disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Andfjord said the impact on its Kvalnes project has not been that problematic.

Advertisement

“Large parts of Norwegian businesses are affected by the effects of the coronavirus,” according to the company. “The construction of Andfjord Salmon’s first facility has so far not been affected in a way that has led to significant delays.”

Andfjord Salmon has implemented all measures recommended by the FHI (The Norwegian Institute of Public Health) and the authorities and all its employees follow these routines, according to the company.

The Andfjord site has a license for 10,000 metric tons of salmon per year, with each fish weighing about four kilos.

The company said an expansion phase is expected to boost production to 70,000 MT.

The facility is located on the eastern shores of Andøya, the northern most island of the Norwegian Arctic Archipelago of Lofoten – Vesterålen. The eastern shores of Andøya is part of Andfjorden which provides sub-surface optimum temperatures for salmon farming in the Arctic.

Plans for the facility calls for the construction of eleven seawater flow-through pools. Each pool has a volume of 35,000 cubic meters measuring 45 by 40 by 20 meters.

Seawater inlets are located at 160 metres for the winter and 30 metres for the summer.

These two inlets provide stable temperatures of 7 to 12 degrees Celsius year-round allowing for unique and optimal growth conditions for Atlantic salmon in the Norwegian Arctic.

In late March the company Andfjord announced that all key contracts for the completion of the first pool have been signed. Recently, equipment from ABB, which is responsible for automation, instrumentation, telecommunications and power distribution, completed its delivery.

Martin Rasmussen, a 34-year-old management expert in the aquaculture industry who was hired in January, formally took over as company chief executive officer in April.

The company also hired Kenneth Jørgensen, 38, as technical lead. Jørgensen has many years of experience as a technician and chief engineer in large shipping companies and other companies in Norway.


Print this page

Advertisement

Stories continue below