Bakkafrost is planning three new state-of-the-art salmon RAS hatcheries in Scotland, according to the company’s 2020 Sustainability Report. 

“Freshwater sites in Scotland are predominantly based on older non-RAS technology and the focus of the investment plan in Scotland is on new state-of-the-art hatcheries, like those in the Faroe Islands,” the report said.

The company timeline includes a hatchery expansion in the Faroes and the first of three planned large hatcheries in Scotland in 2022, another hatchery expansion in the Faroes and a second large hatchery in Scotland in 2023 and a third large hatchery in Scotland in 2024.

“Our hatcheries have the highest water demand and we have invested in improved technology to recycle water at all hatchery sites in the Faroe Islands. We have also started introducing RAS in some of our locations in Scotland which are much more water and feed efficient. We were one of the first salmon farmers in the world to start recirculating water in our hatcheries, currently in the Faroe Islands recycling up to 99.7% of the water harvested to reduce pressure on the demand for water,” the report said. 

As part of its sustainability plan, the company recently started the production of green energy from waste from Strond hatchery. “This is a huge step towards our goal to utilize all waste from salmon production and is a good example of embedding circular economy in our investment and growth plans,” the report said.