Boulogne site for new land based salmon farm

LAND based salmon farming company Pure Salmon has chosen France to site its biggest facility to date.

The €175million plant will be built in Boulogne-Sur-Mer, the seafood gateway to Europe, and aims to produce 10,000 tonnes of salmon a year.

The RAS (recirculating aquaculture system) farm will create 160 permanent new jobs, said Pure Salmon, which announced the development today at the Choose France Summit, in the Château of Versailles, hosted by French president, Emmanuel Macron.

Pure Salmon France, which will be the largest salmon RAS facility in the European Union, has received significant support from the French government at local, regional and national levels, including grants and other financial support, as well as administrative assistance.

The new state-of-the-art unit will be fully integrated from hatchery and grow-out to processing and smoking. Construction of the site is due to start in Q4 2020, with the first harvest of market size salmon expected in 2023.

The company said France, one of the largest consumers of salmon in the world, was a natural choice for its second site in Europe. Pure Salmon’s original plant is in Poland, which also acts as a training centre for the company\’s global RAS projects.

Fish from the Boulogne site will be sold primarily to the French market in a variety of forms, including smoked salmon and fillets, said Pure Salmon.

Boulogne-Sur-Mer is the leading fish processing and distribution centre in Europe, providing a strong network of support businesses, infrastructure and logistics, with specialised workforce and training facilities.

The city is also home to Nausicaá, Europe’s largest public aquarium as well as a major marine research and conservation centre.

Stephane Farouze, board director of Pure Salmon and chairman and founder of parent company 8F Asset Management, said: ‘We have chosen France over other European countries because of its long reputation for producing exceptionally high quality food, the large salmon consumer base and also for the support and assistance we have received from all levels of government in France.’

Didier Guillaume, French minister of Agriculture and Food, added: ‘The Pure Salmon France land based salmon facility in Boulogne-Sur-Mer leads to a significant increase in fish production in France.

‘It is in line with the European Commission’s objectives to develop sustainable aquaculture and thereby reduce the European Union’s dependence on imports.

‘This large scale project is therefore also fully aligned with the policies I have been implementing in favour of further developing the aquaculture industry in France.’

Pure Salmon produced its first salmon in 2018 at its Polish RAS facility, which recently received ASC (Aquaculture Stewardship Council) certification. At full capacity, the site produces 450 tonnes a year.

Pure Salmon has announced a number of other locations across the globe, including Japan, America and China, which will contribute to its goal to produce 260,000 tonnes annually.

Each Pure Salmon farm uses RAS technology provided by Israel based AquaMaof Aquaculture Technologies.