Leroy Seafood Group business, Leroy Aurora, has just opened a new grow-out facility on Karlsoy Island north of the arctic circle, newspaper Nordlys has reported.
Dozens of screens, new computers and a half-ton server had to be in place in order to monitor the 5.5 million fish and observe via camera the automatic feed systems at five sites spread out over the county of Troms. More Leroy sites are expected online in future, as the company employs remote, control-room monitoring and staff interaction methods well-practiced by the country’s offshore oil-and-gas industry.
A half-dozen staff work shifts in the old bank building: “This is how we gather knowhow in one place. Those who work here can share their knowledge with the rest of the company,” production boss, Haavard Haarstad told the newspaper.
Karlsoy municipality is big on aquaculture and also hosts Wilsgaard and Norwegian Royal Salmon. Although Leroy has 30 employees in the township, the area is also host to anti-aquaculture activists.
“We don’t do this to buy goodwill in Karlsoy, but it’s important for us to demonstrate that this type of activity yields positive effects, and that this is sustainable food production. That’s why we operate out in the open,” Kurt Einar, Leroy Aurora chief exec, told Nordlys.
He’s serious. A glass wall allows passersby a glimpse of swimming fish snapping up feed based on their natural diets.
Leroy Aurora reported a full-year net profit of NOK706 million in 2016 on NOK1.78 billion in revenues.
