Swedes look to land based salmon farming

SWEDEN has decided to try to cash in on the potential land based salmon farming gold rush, according to a report by Intrafish.

The government has thrown its weight behind the ambitious project, which is being partly financed by Norwegian company Lighthouse Finance.

The plan reportedly is to build an integrated farm in the municipality of Sotenas, in western Sweden, that would produce up to 100,000 tonnes of salmon, making it the largest land based salmon centre in Europe.

Lighthouse Finance CEO Roy Hoias told Intrafish that the 75 hectare industrial site could eventually accommodate the entire value chain from feed production to waste processing. It will include two 40,000-tonne farming facilities and one with a capacity of 20,000 tonnes, he added.

The municipal government has invited land based salmon farmers to apply for a licence to operate on the site.

Hoias said Sweden could offer an opportunity to farm salmon close to Norway but without competing with traditional sea water farming.

Sotenas is less than 100km from the Norwegian border, and 200km from Oslo.