A $25-million investment in hatchery upgrades will double smolt capacity at Greig Seafood’s operations in British Columbia and will allow the salmon producer to reduce the amount of time the fish stay in ocean cages for growout.
The initiative is part of the company’s goal of transitioning more of its production onto land, which is where the salmon industry in BC appears to be heading sooner than later.
The upgrade of the RAS 34 Gold River Hatchery will allow the company to increase freshwater production to match the company’s target harvest of 22,000 metric tonnes of this year.
After three years of construction, the facility was completed this spring and the first fry were transferred into the tanks in April, the company announced on Wednesday, June 29.
The six tanks in the hatchery have a combined capacity to hold two million litres of water and will support the growth of up to four million smolts.
“We are happy to report that the system has been functioning beautifully, and the fish are performing very well in the new system,” says Rocky Boschman, Managing Director for Grieg Seafood BC.
The facility will also house the sorting, grading, and vaccination equipment that are currently housed in the old section of the hatchery.
