Reward farmers who switch to closed operations, urges Watermoon pioneer

Norwegian family-owned salmon farmer Eide believes that future growth can be achieved in the locations the industry already has if regulations make it more attractive to invest in closed facilities.

The company has been developing the closed cage Watermoon structure since 2019, with the first full-scale unit in operation since 2021, and Watermoon 2.0 scheduled to start producing fish in the fall of 2026.

Now, Sondre Eide, CEO of Eide and chairman of the board of Eide Fjordbruk, has made a submission to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries’ follow-up of Norway’s aquaculture report, Fish Farming Expert’s sister site Kyst.no reported.

“Growth in Norwegian aquaculture is not dead, it is locked in,” he wrote.

Biological growth

Eide Fjordbruk operates in Hardanger and Bjørnafjorden in production area 3. According to its submission, the company has carried out six generations without delousing. Eide states a survival rate of 97.2 per cent in the pilot, a feed factor of around 1.0 and biological growth of 14 grams per day. The company also said that sludge has been collected and measured.

Improvements to version 2.0 include better biological control, new design calculated for operation in more weather-exposed areas, and improved cleaning functions that reduce the risk of human error.

In the aquaculture report, the government proposed a new management system that would better regulate the impact of the aquaculture industry. Among the proposals were tradeable lice quotas and a gradual transition from the current traffic light system.

Following the Storting's consideration of the report, the ministry is continuing to work on the design of the regulation. The government has invited submissions up to a deadline of October 31, 2027.

Less risky

Eide believes that it may be less risky to continue with open operations than to apply to redevelop a location because the processing of the permits may, in some cases, result in lower capacity.

Therefore, the farmer is proposing a conversion guarantee. Farmers who convert an existing site to what the company refers to as documented zero-emission operations should not be able to have their emissions permit or site maximum total biomass (MTB) reduced.

“No one should lose by cleaning up,” writes Eide. On the contrary, documented improvements should provide a basis for increased local MTB, he argues.

Eide has also previously called for stronger incentives for closed fish farms. When the aquaculture report was presented, the company described it as a historic crossroads for Norwegian aquaculture.

Environmental flexibility

Eide believes the environmental flexibility scheme is a step in the right direction, but that it is too limited to trigger larger investments in closed technology. Closed facilities require a certain production volume to justify the investments, he said.

The company has asked the ministry to bring together the Directorate of Fisheries, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, the state administrator and the research communities in a restructuring project for production areas 3 and 4.

Eide proposes that closed operations are tested on a larger scale at existing sites, with gradual scaling up, reporting and clear stopping points. Infrastructure such as electricity, quay and logistics should be planned as part of the project.

“The knowledge the ministry needs to design an accurate future regime only arises if someone is allowed to produce it,” he wrote in his submission.