Salmon Evolution looks to bigger smolts and smaller harvest size to boost volume
Land-based fish farmer Salmon Evolution is planning to optimise production at its hybrid recirculation / flow-through facility on the island of Indre Harøy, Norway by using larger smolts and reducing average harvest weight to shorten the production cycle.
The plan entails the construction of four pre-gow-out tanks that will be used to raise the weight of fish stocked in its grow-out tanks from ~130 grams to ~400 grams.
At the same time, the targeted harvest weight will be reduced to approximately 5.2 kg live weight.
“Combined, this shortens the production cycle from approximately 11 months to 8-9 months, making it possible to increase the number of smolt stockings from six to eight per year per phase, improving the utilisation of the grow-out facility,” Salmon Evolution said in its report for the third quarter of 2026 published today.
The company said the pre-grow-out tanks are expected to add 2,200 tonnes (head on gutted) on top of the original installed capacity of 15,800 tonnes HOG in phases 1 and 2, lifting the expected annual harvest capacity to 18,000 tonnes HOG.
“The concept is similar to the use of post-smolt in conventional salmon farming,” said Salmon Evolution, which added the plan represents a highly capital-efficient way to scale production using existing infrastructure.
It said opting for a lower average harvest weight and peak densities through the production cycle was generally considered a conservative production plan that also lowered the operational risk through increased robustness and added operational flexibility.
The company pointed out that its capital allocation remains disciplined, and initiation of the pre-grow-out tanks is contingent on an improvement in salmon prices and profitability, with near-term focus on achieving production targets on installed capacity.
The option to include pre-grow-out tanks is also available for phase 3, which has not yet been built.
