Norwegian salmon farmer Eide Fjordbruk plans to seek approval for its Watermoon closed-containment farming concept at a new site on Norway’s west coast after repeated setbacks in the Hardangerfjord region.
The company has presented plans to establish the project near Bremanger in Nordfjord, north of Bergen, using seven salmon grow-out licences, according to local newspaper Firdaposten.
Watermoon is Eide’s floating closed-containment system, designed to raise salmon in enclosed structures at sea rather than in conventional open net pens.
The move follows a series of regulatory setbacks in Hardangerfjord, one of Norway’s largest and most important salmon farming regions. The State Administrator of Vestland has rejected nine applications for new aquaculture sites in the fjord, citing concerns that the ecosystem cannot accommodate additional environmental pressure.
Eide has previously said it intends to appeal those decisions.