Bluegreen is supporting SalMar in the process of taking Marine Donut from the development phase into regular commercial operations. As part of this work, the facility is being adapted for post-smolt production – an application that sets new technical requirements for the system’s design.
Marine Donut has so far been operated under a development license, with a primary focus on food fish production. The experience gained from full-scale testing has provided valuable insight into biology, operations, and structural design, and now forms the foundation for further use of the technology in regular commercial production.
“The transition from a development license to ordinary operations means that the facility must be adapted to its intended use. Post-smolt production places different demands on the system than food fish production, particularly in terms of the number of individuals and fish size,” says Henrik Thorstensen, CTO at Bluegreen.
The work includes new technical assessments and adjustments to fish barriers in order to meet the requirements for post-smolt production, where smaller fish require stricter specifications for mesh size and barrier functionality.
“The next step is to complete the conversion and submit applications for exemptions to allow the stocking of up to 1,000,000 individuals,” Thorstensen explains.
The biological and technical framework of Marine Donut has already been developed with high biomass density and stable operations in mind. Full-scale testing has demonstrated strong biological performance, and these experiences are now being actively used to optimize the facility for post-smolt production.
SalMar plans to use Marine Donut for spring production of post-smolt before transferring the fish to open sea sites for final grow-out. The use of closed technology during this phase reduces exposure to external environmental factors and provides greater control during a critical stage of the production cycle.
“Marine Donut has delivered very strong results during the development phase. The work we are doing now is about taking the technology into regular operations and adapting it to new applications. This marks an important step in the continued commercialization of the solution,” says Thorstensen.
