Salmon farms help reduce the burden on wild fish, but penned fish concentrate a lot of waste in one place. New farms are looking to solve this problem by growing salmon and kelp in adjacent cages.
The pilot aquaculture operation is located in the municipality of Steigen in Norland County, Norway. Norwegian aquaculture companies Folla Alger and Cermaq are collaborating on the salmon aspect of the project, and the SINTEF Marine Research Group is responsible for the kelp.
The farm consists of 24 pens anchored in the sea near the shore. These pens are combined in her four groups, and those six groups of him are connected in turn in one row, forming a rectangle when viewed from above. The two groups at the ends of the rectangle contain salmon, and the four groups in the middle contain kelp.
Fora Algiers
The idea is that most of the soluble components of faeces and leftovers from salmon pens are taken up by kelp, providing nutrients that promote seaweed growth by up to 50%. This can be especially important during periods when nutrient levels are lower than average.
Salmon is also expected to benefit from the arrangement. The health of the fish and their environment will be monitored to see how and if this is the case.
Fora Algiers
Harvested kelp is said to be initially used as a nutritional additive in livestock feed for land animals such as cattle and pigs, but the components extracted from it are eventually used in salmon feed as well. should be done.
It plans to produce 1,500 tons (1,361 tons) of salmon and 100 tons (91 tons) of kelp in the first year of operation, doubling in the second year. The project is scheduled to run for his six years.
Source: SINTEF, Fora Algiers
