Grieg Seafood Newfoundland resuming construction of post-smolt RAS facility

Grieg Seafood Newfoundland has announced it plans to resume construction of its post-smolt recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility in Marystown Industrial Park in Marystown, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

Grieg Seafood purchased Grieg Newfoundland in February 2020, a greenfield project with exclusive rights for salmon farming in Placentia Bay. The company has since steadily acquired the permits required to commence farming salmon in the bay, and is working to gradually develop a full suite of salmon-farming operations in the area. 

Soon after the company acquired Grieg Newfoundland, it announced its intention to build a post-smolt facility. However, it postponed construction in October 2020 due to the difficulty of completing a construction project during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Now, Grieg Seafood Newfoundland has resumed construction at its post-smolt building, with construction expected to be completed by spring 2024, according to Grieg Seafood Newfoundland Managing Director Knut Skeidsvoll. The first phase of construction is expected to cost of CAD 14 million (USD 10.6 million, EUR 9.5 million).

The company has already established a feed building and a smolt building on the site, and said that its new post-smolt facility will be equipped with the same RAS technology as the other buildings. 

Overall, Grieg Seafood said it plans to invest roughly CAD 38 million (USD 28 million, EUR 26 million) in its Newfoundland operations in 2023, with most of that money going to develop marine sites. It said the timing of the commencement of the project's second phase of is dependent on a number of factors – particularly the completion of a full grow-to-harvest cycle in Placentia Bay. Currently, the company is raising its first generation of fish in the bay, and those fish have successfully completed a full year in two marine farms, with a harvest expected in Q4 2023.

Grieg Seafood has invested in  land-based post-smolt facilities across its salmon-farming operations globally, allowing it to complete a larger part of the production cycle on land and reduce the amount of time its fish spend in marine farms. 

“Post-smolt is one of the industry best practices we are implementing into our Newfoundland operations from the get-go,” Skeidsvoll said.

Skeidsvoll said Grieg plans to continue developing its operations “gradually and responsibly” in the region as it establishes a salmon-farming industry in Placentia Bay. 

“Based on the experience we have so far, Placentia Bay is well-suited for sustainable salmon farming,” Skeidsvoll said. “I strongly believe that salmon aquaculture will bring value and opportunities to the communities of Placentia Bay and Newfoundland for many decades to come.”  

Photo courtesy of Grieg Seafood Newfoundland