The land-based salmon project of Land Farmed Salmon (I.L.F.S.) in Iceland is moving along, with the company expecting to break ground on a new smolt facility in October.
I.L.F.S.’s plan is to produce 10,000 tons of Atlantic Salmon a year in phase one of the project, and double this volume in phase two. It plans to supply salmon to Europe and North America.
The project will be located on Heimaey island, a community of 4,500 people off the south coast of Iceland. Technology provider AKVA group will build the smolt facility.
“This is an exciting project because it makes us self-sufficient in smolt supply for our coming land-based growout project, thereby giving us the full control of our own value chain,” says Lárus Sigurður Ásgeirsson, chairman of the board of I.L.F.S.
The companies said Heimaey is an ideal location for the land-based growout facility because of the availability of land and infrastructure, pristine water resource and access to markets. The local fisheries industry also provides it with a ready pool of human resources.
“We’re excited about AKVA group`s ‘Zero Water Concept’. It allows us to build a RAS facility on an island with limited access to fresh water,” said Ásgeirsson.
