AquaCultured Seafood has recently submitted proposals to Lincolnshire local authorities for the New Clee Aquaculture Facility, a 40,000 square metre salmon aquaculture facility to be located in Grimsby, UK.
The proposed project requires a £75 million (€84.5 million/$90.3 million) investment to develop the new facility on the south bank of the Humber Estuary. The development would include a marine recirculating aquaculture system (RAS), with freshwater and saltwater tanks, as well as a water treatment plant, feed storage unit and fish processing facilities.
AquaCultured Seafood was incorporated in 2020. The board of directors include veteran aquaculture executives such as former Scottish Salmon CEO Craig Anderson, former Global Seafood Alliance executive Mike Berthet and James Fox-Davies of 360 Aquaculture.
Aquaculture in Grimsby
Grimsby is already the main seafood processing hub in the UK, with total sales of product processed or traded in Grimsby of approximately £2 billion (€2.26 billion/$2.4 billion). The Grimsby Seafood Processing Cluster is the largest in Northern Europe and one of the largest in the Northern Hemisphere. The cluster employs nearly 6,000 people directly in over 50 approved seafood processing factories and trading businesses.
Salmon aquaculture in demand
The proposed AquaCultured Seafood development would add salmon aquaculture to the mix of seafood industries located in Grimsby and surrounding areas, planning to produce 5000 tones of fish per year when fully operational. The proposal comes as demand for salmon both within the UK and internationally remains high, with the salmon industry expected to grow by 4% in 2023.
According to AquaCultured Seafood’s proposals submitted to the Lincolnshire local authorities, measures will be put in place to limit the environmental impact of the facility, as well as mitigate the effects of climate change.
However, the project has attracted criticism by local resident groups concerned about the potential environmental impact of the development, including waste water discharge and other pollution.
The proposals are currently under consideration by local authorities.
