Swiss Blue Salmon hires VAQ as designer of its recirculating aquaculture system

Swiss Blue Salmon has chosen VAQ to design the recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) for its Atlantic salmon farm planned for Mollis, Switzerland.

Swiss Blue Salmon originally partnered informally with Billund Aquaculture to help advance its mission to build what it has dubbed the “world’s smartest RAS farm.” In July 2022, Billund Aquaculture Norway split off from its parent company, and became VAQ in September 2022. It is now majority owned by Broodstock Capital, is based in Tromdheim, Norway, and specializes in the design, construction and operation of land-based RAS technology. 

In August, Swiss Blue Salmon and VAQ formally signed a contract under which VAQ will be the designer of the 3,400-metric-ton facility in Mollis, Switzerland, on the shore of the Walensee lake.

“We have spent the last six 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. 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," Swiss Blue Salmon Chief Technology Officer Sune Møller said in a press release.

Swiss Blue Salmon’s eventual goal is to create a local aquaculture industry to reduce Switzerland’s reliance on seafood imports, the company’s founder and CEO, Rudolf Ryf, told SeafoodSource in 2022.

Møller said Swiss Blue Salmon has determined VAQ is the right company for the job.

“VAQ have convinced us 100 percent in their early interactions with us,” Møller said. “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.”

VAQ Chief Operating Officer Marius Haegh said the contract formalizes a longstanding, positive relationship.

“We will bring all of our knowhow to bare in the design of this state-of-the-art facility that SBS have envisioned,” Haegh said. “We have many years of experience, which are complemented 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.”

Photo courtesy of Swiss Blue Salmon