Skogsholmen, Nova Sea's site in Helgeland where the new custom-made submersible cages developed by Smir have been installed.
Photo: Smir.
Seven months after the contract between Smir and Nova Sea for the total delivery of technology and services for deep farming at one of their salmon operations was announced, the release of the fish has been completed and production has begun to take shape in Skogsholmen, Helgeland, Norway. Both companies are very pleased with the deep-drift solution.
"The release at Skogsholmen has been successful, and the project marks an important step towards our goal of handling-free operations," said Marte Solheim Fossen, Head of Marine Production Support at Nova Sea. "The fish seem to thrive in their new, deeper environment, with stable and favorable water values, reduced stress and minimal need for handling - which we expect will provide good fish welfare over time."
"By lowering the facility below the so-called lice belt, the risk of lice build-up is significantly reduced, which both benefits the fish and reduces the burden on employees. In the long term, nearby sites will also benefit from lower lice pressure in the area," she added.
Based in Langevåg, Møre og Romsdal County, the company behind Nova Sea's new deep aquaculture solution is, as mentioned, Smir. A specialist in sea lice treatment, waterborne feeding and cage systems, last year, the Norwegian aquatech company further strengthened its capability and flexibility in the supply of submersible pen systems with the acquisition of KB Group, a movement which it described at the time as being of "strategic importance."
For this particular project, those capacity and flexibility have been applied in one of its main aspects: the reuse of existing conventional Nova Sea cages to convert them into submersible cages suitable for deep fish farming.
As noted by Smir's COO, Ingolf Salen, this provides a more environmentally friendly and cost-effective approach to deepwater operations. "Nova Sea is a very forward-looking and solution-oriented customer that dares to challenge established methods through innovation and new thinking," he said.
"By reusing and converting their conventional cages into submersible cages, we have provided a solution that is both financially beneficial and environmentally friendly," he continued. "You don't have to buy everything new, you can use a lot of what you already have."
Another highlight of Smir's deep farming solution is that it has been developed with a special focus on seamlessness and operational simplicity, with the aim of reducing logistical needs, especially when raising and lowering the cages.
"It has been important for us to be able to offer a safe and intuitive solution that makes the raising and lowering process as simple as possible. By minimizing the need for external assistance, and enabling the fish farmer to handle the operations himself to a large extent, we reduce both costs and complexity. It also provides increased flexibility and better control for those working at the facility," Salen stated.
Marte Solheim Fossen, Head of Marine Production Support at Nova Sea, and Ingolf Salen, COO of Smir.
Photo: Smir.
In the statement announcing the successful fish release, Smir pointed out that its focus on customization and collaboration with clients is what makes tailor-made solutions like the one offered to Nova Sea possible. As Ingolf Salen emphasizes, the key is to develop the solutions in close dialogue with customers to ensure that they work optimally under different conditions.
"We see great potential in being able to offer the market a tailor-made solution for technology and services for this operating method. Deep drift represents an important step in the development of a more sustainable and robust aquaculture industry, reducing challenges related to lice, fish health and environmental impact," explained the COO of Smir.
"Our ambition is to develop and customize solutions in close collaboration with our customers, so that they work optimally for different locations and needs," Salen continued. And precisely that, the good collaboration between the two companies, is what has characterized the project developed for the Nova Sea site in Skogsholmen.
"We at Nova Sea and Vega Sjøfarm are very pleased with the collaboration and the results so far in our first submerged facility," stated Nova Sea's Head of Marine Production Support, Marte Solheim Fossen.
"Throughout the entire project period, there has been very close and good cooperation between us, Nova Sea as a customer, our partner Badinotti, and our sister companies KB and Smir SET," Smir's COO Ingolf Salen added. "We are very satisfied with the project, and it is very gratifying that the release of fish in our first deep-drift solution for salmon has gone as planned."
Following the agreement signed by Mowi to acquire 95% of the company and become majority owner of Nova Sea, the salmon raised in these submersible cages will likely become part of the 600,000 tons that the Norwegian salmon giant expects to harvest next year.
