AquaBounty Technologies expects its first harvest of AquAdvantage salmon in the fourth quarter this year in Indiana, followed by the anticipated first harvest of AquAdvantage salmon at its Canada-based, Prince Edward Island Farm in the first quarter of 2021.
“The first harvest of conventional salmon represents the start of the commercialization phase for AquAdvantage salmon (AAS), a milestone over 30 years in the making. This will be a breakthrough moment not only for AquaBounty, but for the industry—as it will be the first sale of a genetically engineered animal protein in the U.S. We completed proprietary consumer research in Q4 of 2019, and the insights have been used to build out our communications program that we began executing in conjunction with our first harvest and anticipate will support the commercial launch of AAS later this year. Furthermore, we continue to receive inbound interest from potential offtake partners, who see the inherent value in AAS, from both a sustainability and economic perspective, and we anticipate finalizing commercial agreements with key potential customers and distributors in advance of the first AAS harvest,” said Sylvia Wulf, chief executive officer of AquaBounty.
“After engaging Site Selection Group and CRB USA, we have made significant progress on finalizing the potential site and design for our planned 10,000-ton farm and will soon select the farm’s RAS technology provider. We are on schedule to select the farm’s location this quarter and expect to begin construction in early 2021. We believe we are now positioned to seize emerging growth opportunities within the space,” explained Wulf.
“While we plan to construct our own facilities at first to validate our business model to the world, our long-term, capital-light goal is to make AAS the clear choice for existing land-based RAS farm operators who wish to remain competitive in the marketplace. I eagerly look forward to what the future holds for AquaBounty,” concluded Wulf.
The company also closed a $4.0 million loan with First Farmers Bank & Trust to fund capital improvements and automation equipment at the Indiana farm.
