Laxey puts post-smolt plant into operation
The facility will provide increased capacity and greater flexibility in production for the Icelandic salmon farmer.
Published
Land-based fish farming company Laxey, located on Heimaey, the largest island of the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago off the south coast of Iceland, has now put its new post-smolt facility into operation.
According to the company, the transfer of fish to the facility began on May 27 and was completed on June 5. With that, the new facility is officially operational.
Will strengthen production
Over 1.1 million fish have already been moved into the facility. At the time of transfer, the fish had an average weight of just over 100 grams.
"We produce four batches a year in our smolt facility, and each batch will be around 90 days in the post-smolt facility before the fish are moved on to the food fish facility," operations director HallgrÃmur Steinsson tells LandbasedAQ.
The post-smolt facility consists of eight tanks of 1,050 cubic metres each, with a total production volume of 8,400m³.
The plant is operational
According to Laxey, the facility will contribute to increased capacity for larger fish earlier in the production cycle. The company believes this will result in better capacity utilisation, greater operational flexibility, and a more efficient production flow through the facility.
The facility was built in 10 months.
Chief executive Dadi Pálsson highlights the efforts of employees, suppliers, contractors, and partners as crucial to the project being completed in such a short time.
"Over the past 10 months, an enormous amount of work has been done in the post-smolt facility. This is the result of hard work, dedication, and good cooperation," he writes.
Will produce 1,700 tons of biomass
According to Steinsson, the post-smolt facility is expected to produce around 1,700 tons of biomass annually.
"The system will also provide better utilisation of our food fish tanks and thus facilitate increased production there," he says.
Although the plant has only been in operation for a short time, the initial experiences are positive.
"It's very early in the process, but so far it looks good. It seems like we've come up with a good design together with Akva group Land Based," says Steinsson.
According to Steinsson, the implementation of the post-smolt facility is an achievement he is particularly proud of.
"I'm not sure if anyone has ever gone from ground work to fish stocking on a facility like this in just 10 months. It's a huge achievement."
He also highlights the efforts of both partners and his own employees.
"Thanks to our partners for a strong delivery in a short time of a high-level facility, mainly built under demanding winter conditions. I am also proud of our own team," says Steinsson.
The expansion comes shortly after Laxey completed its first commercial harvest earlier this year, achieving a superior share of 98.6% and an average weight of around 4.2 kilograms (head-on gutted).
See photo gallery below.
Focusing on further development
When LandbasedAQ met with Steinsson during Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona in April, he said that the company is working to further increase capacity on the smolt and post-smolt side.
Laxey presented plans for a new smolt facility on Vestmannaeyjar during the fair. The facility will be built in stages and in the first phase will have the capacity to produce five million smolts annually.
"We expect to complete the next section of food fish tanks between September and November this year. In addition, several new projects will start during the summer, with delivery next year," says Steinsson.
Laxey plans to produce fish for its own facilities and supply post smolt to other farmers in Iceland.
