Far out, man

Iceland has joined the list of countries looking at whether fish farming could expand into more challenging ocean locations, as Vince McDonagh reports.

Iceland has become the latest major seafood country to explore the possibilities of offshore fish farming.

A decade ago it was barely into aquaculture at all, but development is moving at such a pace that Iceland is now looking further into the future.

While a number of RAS (recirculating aquaculture system) farms are either under construction or being planned, most salmon farming is currently carried out in coastal fjords and this has attracted a lot of opposition, especially from sport fishing groups.

Offshore farming is also seen as an answer to that issue, although the country’s severe weather particularly during winter does present more than a few challenges.

Cost, rather than technical challenges, remains the main stumbling block. Offshore is expensive – far more expensive than traditional fish farming or land-based operations.

Norway, which has similar weather conditions, is at a more advanced stage than most other countries. Its experience in building oil and gas platforms is obviously an advantage and the Norwegian offshore energy sector may well be a source of expertise Iceland could make use of.

Salmon producers Nordlaks and SalMar, through its subsidiary SalMar Aker Ocean, have large offshore platform currently in production and they seem to be working fairly well at a technical level.

Nordlaks offshore fish farm

Bakkafrost of the Faroe Islands, midway between the two countries, has said offshore is firmly on its radar.

The Iceland Aquaculture Bill, which sets out a long term strategy for the industry, is currently being debated and is expected to become law by next year at the latest.

Reykjavik sees the south of the country, in an area near the volcano-hit town of Grindavik, as the most likely location but its Marine and Freshwater Research Institute thinks a lot of research is needed.

The legal framework for offshore development is now included in the Ministry of Food Bill.

If and when the bill is eventually approved, the government will be able to grant experimental offshore licences.

Iceland, however, is being ultra-cautious as companies seeking licences will still have to obtain approval from the Marine Research Institute and the Environment Agency.

It also has to be noted that many of the new salmon aquaculture projects now underway are land based.

Arnarlax was granted a 10,000 ton licence extension recently, so traditional open pen farming in the fjords is not going away.

The bill states that the Marine Research Institute and the Environment Agency can by themselves or in cooperation with others conduct basic research on possible areas for offshore sea fishing and its effects on the ecosystems and the wild fish population. This will become a pre-requisite when applying for a licence.

The Bill also says that the Minister of Food can direct the Norwegian Marine Research Institute to start to look for suitable areas inside its territorial waters for potential offshore forming.

The aim of the research is to map out possible areas where the conditions for growing fish are best and where farming will have the least impact on ecosystems, wild populations and the seabed.

It will also have to establish if offshore farming is actually viable in what are some of the roughest waters in the northern hemisphere.

“Furthermore, environmental factors related to operational safety, such as currents and wave height, must be studied as well as issues related to fish welfare, such as stress due to parasites and diseases,” the Bill adds.

Everyone agrees a lot of work needs to be done before the first production platform is installed.

Guðni Guðbergsson

Guðni Guðbergsson, director at the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute, says that while he has heard of interest in offshore aquaculture, no-one has yet come forward with a formal application.

He thinks the seas off southern Iceland present as the most likely area because the water is generally warmer, but says a lot of work still needs to be done.

Iceland is unlikely to have any offshore platforms within the next decade, but the fact that it is looking to the future indicates that it aims to become one of the world’s seriously large salmon producers, embracing all aspects of the industry.

Ministry Food spokesperson Dui Landmark said the issue is still at a conceptual stage but both Icelandic and foreign businesses were showing an interest and the Bill was creating a framework in which that interest can proceed.

The first tentative steps have now being taken – but a long and possibly stormy journey lies ahead.

Scottish Sea Farms planned pens, Shetland

Scotland taking its first steps
Scotland too is dipping its toes into the world of offshore fish farming, although not quite on the same scale as Norway. But it is a start.

As reported in this magazine (Green light for Scottish Sea Farms’ Shetland plan, Fish Farmer June 2024) Shetland Islands Council recently gave its approval to Scottish Sea Farms’ proposed offshore salmon farm at Billy Baa.

The move is part of a strategy of modernising and consolidating the company’s estate in Shetland into fewer but larger farms.

Four existing consents to farm in the more sheltered, shallower waters of Sandsound Voe – Brei Geo Inshore (1,209 tonnes), Brei Geo Offshore (2,635 tonnes), Sandsound Voe (100 tonnes) and Sandsound Bixter (1,000 tonnes) – will be surrendered.

In their place will be one new farm, Billy Baa (4,091 tonnes), sited slightly further offshore where, the company says, hydrodynamic modelling found there to be even better growing conditions, but without any increase to overall environmental load.

The proposed farm comprises nine 160 metre salmon pens and one 120 metre pen, secured by a 125 metre mooring grid and with a surface area of 19,480m².

Offshore goes totally tropical
Offshore farming is probably more suited to warmer and less demanding waters than those in the northern hemisphere.

Already a number of projects are being looked at for South America and parts of the Caribbean.

The government of Aruba, a Caribbean island that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, has just approved Petros Aquaculture’s plans to establish a 3,000-tonne open-ocean fish farm off the island’s southwest coast.

The 3,000-tonne facility will be located eight kilometres off the coast and will be used primarily to raise northern red snapper for the US and Caribbean markets.

The farm will be built in three phases. Once completed, it will have 16 submersible pens and a land-based hatchery.

The pens will utilise a proprietary design developed by aquaculture technology company Innovasea.