UAE supermarket chain Spinneys stocks up on Fish Farm’s land-based raised salmon.
Spinneys reports in its own online magazine that homegrown organic salmon from a hatchery in Jebel Ali is now them on sale at branches.
Fish Farm Chief executive officer Bader Mubarak told the publication that he hopes the venture will help to address the UAE’s import dependency.
“Ninety-two per cent of the fish consumed in the UAE is imported and we aim to address this imbalance by showing how advanced technologies can mitigate the challenges of the natural environment,” he said.
“Growing salmon to market size on land, ready for distribution to the markets of the UAE, is a global first, and we hope to show the region how this can be done on a sustainable and commercially successful basis.”
Last week, SalmonBusiness reported how the company, backed by the Crown Prince of Dubai Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, had cracked how to produce salmon in the desert.
Fish Farm said that they are able to deliver salmon in a one-day turn around instead of the usual four-day harvest-to-market process from imported fish.
The fish will be priced at EUR 24 per kg, which is more expensive than Norwegian salmon priced at EUR 15.7per kg but less expensive than organic Irish salmon priced at EUR 31 per kg.
Fish Farm said that it will aim to produce about 10,000 to 15,000kg of salmon each month.
Spinneys commercial manager of the protein section Tom Harvey said: “This is the way we can give customers in the UAE the freshest fish and it reduces the food miles the food travels.”
Chris Lester, an Australian lawyer who was at an event launch for UAE salmon at the Umm Suqeim branch of Spinneys, told the publication that he believes it is a valuable addition to the products on offer at the supermarket.
“I buy fish here three to four times a week so it’s great to have locally sourced fish,” he said. “The pricing is not too bad and it’s less expensive than some other salmon.”
