Floating closed pens not yet ready for full cycle, says Mowi Norway
The world's biggest salmon farmer is also Norway's biggest user of enclosed cages but for the time being it views the techology as strictly for post-smolts.
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Mowi was an early adopter of closed cages at sea. As early as 2013, the company started an R&D project at Slåttenes in Vestland, Norway, a location where post-smolt production today takes place exclusively in closed units, reports Fish Farming Expert's Norwegian sister site, Kyst.no.
In recent years, interest in closed production solutions has increased along the Norwegian coast, and Mowi has built capacity step by step.
With a total production volume of 170,000 cubic metres, the company currently accounts for over a third of the total capacity for closed cages in Norway, according to the analysis company Kontali.
Continuing to focus on post-smolts
The closed cages are used for the production of large post-smolts, which have become a central part of Mowi's strategy for improved fish welfare.
By keeping the smolts in fresh water or closed cages in the sea until they reach at least 700 grams, the time the fish spend in open cages is significantly reduced.
The purpose is to provide fewer lice treatments and significantly higher survival.
"This is one of the most important welfare measures we have for the salmon," says Mowi Norway executive vice president Øyvind Oaland on the company's website.
Five new units ordered
As a result of, among other things, the Norwegian government's environmental flexibility scheme, Mowi has now placed an order for four closed cages from Fiizk and one from Fishglobe Technologies. Delivery is expected during 2026 and 2027.
When the new units are operational, Mowi will have a total of 11 closed cages at sea, and production volume will increase to approximately 320,000m3.
The company expects that the investment will contribute to better licence utilisation, increased survival, and a higher share of post-smolts in the coming years. By the end of 2026, the goal is for post-smolts to account for 40% of production nationwide, and 60% south of Namsos.
'Still a supplement'
At the same time, Mowi emphasises that the technology is still under development.
“More experience, development and optimisation are needed before closed cages in the sea can be used on a larger scale. For now, this is primarily a supplement to post-smolt production on land,” says Oaland.
Despite growing interest, today's total capacity in closed cages in Norway corresponds to around 24 traditional cages, or approximately 2–3 traditional fish farms.
A small supplier market with limited capacity, high investment costs and insufficient access to electricity are highlighted as important challenges.
In Scotland, Mowi once considered using floating closed containment for post-smolts but chose a different path by buying trout producer Dawnfresh Farming when the company's parent company went bust. Dawnfresh had farms in Loch Etive, a sea loch with a higher-than-average fresh water content that makes it less conducive for sea lice to breed, and Mowi is using those to raise post-smolts of up to a kilo in net pens.
