Marine Harvest Seeks to Farm Fish on Old Bulkers

Posted by Joseph Keefe June 2, 2016

Oeyvind Oaland, Global Director of R&D at the world's top fish farmer Marine Harvest , says firm has applied for 6 development licenses from Norwegian authorities to reuse old Panamax bulk vessels to produce salmon.

* Oaland hopes to get reply to it's 14 development licence applications for egg-shaped fish tanks before summer

* Oaland says each "egg" unit could produce 1,000 tonnes of salmon

* Other concepts under development include a "Back Cage", which is a submersible offshore farming cage with a capacity of 200,000 fish. Marine Harvest has applied for 6 development licences under this concept

* Firm has also applied to build 6 "blue revolution centres", an R&D facility with focus on developing technological solutions for optimal fish welfare

* CEO Alf-Helge Aarskog says will not go into details on capex for "Panamax" concept or on the other concepts before licences are granted

* CEO Aarskog says aims to select the concepts that reduce costs and have the best biological outcome.

Reporting By Ole Petter Skonnord