SalMar has successfully carried out a trial stocking and emptying of salmon in the innovative Marine Donut, ensuring fish welfare with efficient technology.
Fish welfare is of the utmost importance to SalMar. Therefore, when adopting entirely new technology, it is important to conduct a trial insertion and extraction on a smaller number of fish.
The trial insertion consisted of 15,000 salmon, each weighing 2.5 kg, which were placed into the Marine Donut in early May.
"The insertion was very successful," reports Geir Andresen, project manager and partner at Bluegreen. "The fish behaved calmly and distributed themselves well within the facility. After two weeks, only 7 dead fish have been observed."
Read more: Fish in the Marine Donut
Marine Donut is equipped with high-tech sensors that enable monitoring of every single parameter for the fish. Everything is controlled from the control room onboard the Donut – or from anywhere on land.
“ The fish farmer can monitor and adjust the flow rate, feed amount, and oxygen level. They have full control over all parameters that affect the salmon! Geir Andresen, project manager and partner Bluegreen
Two weeks later, it was time for the trial extraction of the salmon. This operation was also successful.
"When the Marine Donut is to be emptied of fish, we start by raising the facility by about 20% before the wellboat is connected, then it is tilted by 4 degrees," explains Andresen.
This ensures that the water flow is maintained both into and out of the facility. After that, the water volume is gradually reduced to maintain optimal conditions for the salmon as long as possible.
"This minimizes stress and provides better fish welfare, while the method is very gentle and efficient."
With a successful trial stocking and extraction, SalMar is confident to proceed in the measuring program and utilize the full capacity of the Marine Donut:
"Marine Donut is approved for 1100 tons MBT, which corresponds to 200,000 market-size fish - up to 5.5 kg. Now, plans are underway for a new, full stocking during the summer," says Andresen.
