Bluegreen Group applying to bring Marine Donut concept to Canada

Bluegreen Group, the company that recently launched its first “Marine Donut” enclosed aquaculture system concept, is making progress on bringing the system to Canada.

The company established a subsidiary in Canada in 2022, and selected Mark Lane – the former executive director of the Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association – to head up the company’s operations in Canada and the U.S. Now, as the company launches its first full-size Marine Donut in Norway, it has also submitted an environmental registration to begin construction and utilization of the concept in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

The Marine Donut concept creates a massive thermoplastic enclosure – the largest structure of its type in the world – that weighs 600 metric tons. The enclosed structure is meant to minimize salmon escapes; the risks of disease, algae, and sea lice; and reduce the use of antibiotics and other medicines.

The torus-shaped closed unit uses a flow system that can be adjusted to exercise fish, and it can be raised and lowered in the water when needed.

Lane told SeafoodSource that the company submitted its environmental documentation on 19 July, and now the Newfoundland Department of Environment and Climate Change has seven days to post the full document publicly. 

Lane said the company decided to skip ahead in the process to avoid any delays.

“I feel confident that this is the most competent environmental registration that’s ever been submitted, because we wrote it to the standards of the EIS,” Lane said. “We just said, 'Let’s give all the information that we have, let’s provide it to everybody up front.’”

The Marine Donut, he said, is not intended to be a complete replacement of net-pens.

“Bluegreen and I are full supporters of traditional sea cages. The Marine Donut, what it does, it provides farmers with an additional level of technology in some areas that are exceptionally challenging," Lane said. "Whether the challenges are biological, environmental, or political, that’s for them [farmers] to decide. We’re not here to replace net pens, we’re here to provide experienced farmers in Canada with a new technology that they can use at their disposal to address some of the issues.”

The company has received inquiries on the concept from several salmon-farming companies, including ... 

Photo courtesy of Bluegreen Canada