Norwegian aquaculture player, Eidsfjord Sjofarm, has applied for 17 concessions for its salmon-farming concept, Eidsfjord Giant, for which overall investments are envisaged to be around EUR 100 million, writes newspaper Bladet Vesterålen.
The autonomous or remotely controlled ship will be 270 meters long and 42 m wide. The (grow-out) facility will be closed, and an electric filter will funnel all manner of sea lice in the intake water. Salmon will live onboard until they’re between 2 kilograms and 2.5 kg, to be moved thereafter to open pens at sea.
Rolls-Royce — which has long had a marine and offshore presence in Norway, where it’s deeply into unmanned shipping — has been brought in to help the Giant along. “When (the salmon) comes aboard, there won’t be lice on it. It’ll come right from the smolt facility. It won’t have lice on it, so we’re thinking of placing them in the sea during periods of less lice,” production boss, Rolf-Arne Reinholdtsen, was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
He claims the ship-shaped concept will require less production area, but he guarantees there won’t be a need to de-lice fish.
“We can produce double as much fish in the same area, and we gain a longer fallow period for each site,” he said, adding that the vessel won’t have to remain far offshore.
