Investment in innovation increases 95%
MARINE Harvest increased investment in R&D by 95 per cent last year to € 51.3 million, due to expanded activity in general and increased stocking at the Centre for Aquaculture Competence.
The company joined with SINTEF Ocean and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences to establish the Blue Revolution Centre, and has created several concepts for development licences.
Its closed containment ‘Egg’ and ‘Donut’ concepts both qualified for further evaluation by the Norwegian Department of Fisheries.
It is currently testing the second batch of fish in a semi-closed floating facility, the Neptun. This is a 21,000m3 floating tank with water pumped in from 30m depth to prevent sea lice and stabilising temperature.
‘Since the floating semi-closed technology is still very new, we are focusing on testing several different concepts, to be sure we select the best one once the technology is taken to a larger scale,’ the company said in its annual report.
‘We have therefore applied for development licences to test the following concepts: the Egg, the Marine Donut and the Ship.
‘A final new concept that we intend to test out, is to widen the area of fish farming, by enabling farming in rougher conditions in more open seas.
‘The Beck cage is a submersible sea pen, which can be lowered during the roughest weather. If successful, it could potentially open up new areas for farming.
‘Testing and documenting potential new farming systems in order to ensure further sustainable growth of our company and industry is given high priority within the R&D and
innovation focus.’
To this end, Marine Harvest is developing a generation of new materials, pen designs and construction methods that, it hopes, will revolutionise the industry.
Among these developments are closed containment systems, which will enable it to improve its operational performance because they offer greater control of parameters such as water quality and waste disposal, as well as greater protection against sea lice.
‘Although we are developing and testing closed containment solutions, we do not think that our existing facilities will become redundant in the future. On the contrary, we see opportunities to combine the present with the future and make the best of both, particularly with our new/expanded land based smolt facilities.’