St. Andrews, NB – Scientists and industry experts from Canada, the United States, and Europe gathered at the Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) in Chamcook, New Brunswick this week to discuss the latest technology and operation of land based, closed-containment aquaculture–an increasingly popular and environmentally sustainable method of farming fish.
Hosted jointly by ASF and The Conservation Fund Freshwater Institute (TCFFI), the workshop attracted more than 80 experts in the field of land-based growing systems. Expertise was available in all aspects of land based, closed-containment systems including start-up costs and construction, fish health and welfare, organic and sustainability rankings and marketing and promotion.
Presentations included several project updates on the TCFFI land-based growing operation in West Virginia, the KUTERRA land-based operation owned by the Namgis First Nation in British Columbia, as well as the Sustainable Blue land-based operation in Nova Scotia.
“We have been able to exchange a great deal of knowledge and information regarding the growing of Atlantic salmon in a closed-containment system,” said Jonathan Carr, ASF’s Executive Director of Research and Environment. “Feedback from participants has been very positive.”
Steve Summerfelt, Director of Aquaculture Systems Research for TCFFI, said they have been successfully selling land based, closed-containment grown Atlantic salmon for more than two years to the public.
“We have had no major disease issues, no ISA (Infectious Salmon Anemia), and no sea lice,” said Summerfelt. “We have a survival rate of 84-94 percent.”
Diseases such as ISA and sea lice are all too common in open net pen salmon farming operations.
“Landbased systems are the future of fish,” said Eric Hobson, who presented on behalf of KUTERRA, a closed-containment operation owned by the Namgis First Nation in British Columbia. KUTERRA officially launched their salmon last week which is now available in grocery stores in Western Canada.
Workshop participants were also provided with an opportunity to sample some land-based grown salmon from KUTERRA at a special dinner prepared by Master Chef Chris Aerni at the Rossmount Inn in St. Andrews. “It has a very mild, yet delicious taste,” raved Food Critic, and Writer Fred Decker.
This was the second such conference hosted by ASF regarding land based, closed-containment aquaculture.
Source: Atlantic Salmon Federation
