Swiss Blue Salmon (SBS) announced it has signed a contract with the Norwegian company VAQ, which will be the RAS designer for its 3'400mt (WR) facility in Mollis, Canton Glarus. Located on the picturesque Walensee Lake, this will be an excellent and pristine raw water source providing clean alpine water to the facility.
Switzerland imports approximately 98% of the fish it consumes. As an inland country, this arrives by land or air, significantly increasing the country's carbon footprint. With its land-based salmon farming facility, Swiss Blue Salmon could replace up to 8% of this imported salmon with a locally farmed product.
As Sune Møller, CTO at SBS told WeAreAquaculture in his TalentView, "aquaculture is evolution." So, to ensure it is at the forefront of the emerging salmon farming segment, SBS's vision is to be a sustainable salmon producer, that also applies state-of-the-art technologies, including the latest in artificial intelligence and machine learning.
As he explained, his association with VAQ has a lot to do with that vision. "We have spent the last 6 months reviewing our strategy and developing a clear vision for how we are going to develop and execute our vision in collaboration with our project partners," Møller said. "This has led us to do an extensive assessment of the RAS Designers out there and VAQ have come out on top of all the candidates we assessed."
In a statement released on LinkedIn, SBS said that before deciding on VAQ it had conducted an intensive selection process for the RAS designer position. The land-based salmon producer also commented that it decided on the Norwegian company "based on their expertise and proven capabilities to execute Salmon projects." Both companies are very satisfied with this partnership.
"VAQ have convinced us 100% in their early interactions with us," stated Swiss Blue Salmon CTO. "They have brought in a positive attitude to our vision, which has helped develop an instant good chemistry with our inhouse team. We therefore look very much forward to working in close collaboration with their team of experts," continued Sune Møller.
For his part, Marius Hægh, COO at VAQ, commented that they are very pleased to enter into this project as the RAS designer. "We will bring all of our knowhow to bare in the design of this state-of-the-art facility that SBS have envisioned. We have many years of experience which are complimented well by the team SBS brings to the table. They have a lot of local, Swiss, and international experience, which is needed to deliver a project of this kind successfully," he said.
Founded by Ruedi Ryf, Swiss Blue Salmon (SBS) wants to become a leading seafood company known for its high animal welfare level and minimal environmental footprint. "We believe that farming fish in land-based RAS systems (Recirculating Aquaculture Systems) is the best way to raise healthy, and sustainable fish of a premium quality," the company states. SBS secured a site and is now in the design and permitting phase for its first farm to sustainably farm Swiss Atlantic salmon.
VAQ delivers complete RAS facilities with a focus on fish welfare, water quality, ease of operation, and quality. Its model for project implementation ensures safe and accurate deliveries in collaboration with builders and other project stakeholders. These deliveries include a customized training program to ensure optimal performance during the operational phase.
