Atlantic Sapphire’s land-based salmon plant on track for 2020
By Jason Huffman / Atlantic Salmon Federation / Feb. 5, 2018
HOMESTEAD, Florida
[dropcap]L[/dropcap]arge-track construction vehicles roll over white sand on 80 acres of property that until recently was used to grow tomatoes.
Everything has been progressing here in a way that should allow Atlantic Sapphire to open what would be the US’ first operational, large-scale commercial salmon farm and deliver an initial harvest of 800 metric tons by mid-2020 as planned, Johan Andreassen, the founder and CEO, assured a small group of investors during a tour late last month.
The plant’s location, on the southern end of Florida, about 34 miles west of Miami, will enjoy a big advantage
Land based Aquaculture has environmental impact benefits and fish health issues favorable beyond those of open-pen ocean aquaculture fish. Fish feed is still a sticky wicket for either method of farming fish. Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) image. Click on image to visit ASF.
While salmon produced by competitors with more traditional sea-based farms in Chile are still in the air, flying to Miami International Airport, where they will then be loaded into trucks for the next leg of their trip, Atlantic Sapphire’s product, head-on and gutted, will already be on the road or at its final destination.
“We’ll be able to harvest here in Miami on a Monday and deliver to New York on a Tuesday without using an airplane,” he said, noting the longer shelf life this gives his fish.
None of the walls have gone up around the 380,000-square-foot building that ultimately will hold Atlantic Sapphire’s new recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) and its offices to be contained upstairs. The management team is working out of a temporary trailer. But some of the facility’s 62 miles of pipes are in the ground and giant water filtration screens are being lifted into place.
Featured Image plated Atlantic salmon – Pinterest.
