A company hoping to build a cluster of closed-containment salmon farms on the coast has identified a potential site near Port Alice.
Akvafuture has been working for several years to set up a farm on the BC coast, similar to farms it operates on the central coast of Norway. The salmon pens collect all fish waste for processing and drying, and pipe water up from the depths to avoid introducing sea lice into the solid barrier pens.
Last month the company presented detailed plans to the Mount Waddington Regional District, for a site four kilometres north of Port Alice and just south of the Jeune Landing log sort.
The company is proposing eight pens, capable of farming up to 8,000 tonnes. It’s already operating a 12-pen site in Norway near Brønnøysund, and says the same system would work well in BC. But for it to be economically feasible, it needs to be built to the right scale, the company says.
The plan is use barges at first to supply the pens with feed and to collect and process fish waste. If the site proves feasible, Akvafuture will move those systems to land, similar to the way its Norwegian farm operates.
The company has done tidal testing, and found its technology will be sufficient to withstand west coast storms. There are no significant salmon-bearing streams nearby, no fisheries, and no species of concern or spawning habitat.
The proposal is in the territory of the Quatsino First Nation, who have formally supported the project as it reflects mutual goals and obligations, and meets the nation’s environmental standards and regulatory requirements.
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