Grieg reported a survival rate of 92 percent with no sea lice issues for the new site.
Salmon farming giant Grieg Seafood has harvested the first fish from its Placentia Bay, Newfoundland.
The first generation of fish in Placentia Bay in Newfoundland were harvested and then packed at Quinlan Brothers’ processing plant in Bay de Verde before they were transported to customers in the North American market, the company announced in a press release on Monday.
The company started developing the aquaculture project in Placentia Bay in 2014.
Fish from the farm Red Island are currently being harvested. The first generation of fish spent about a year in Grieg Seafood’s freshwater and smolt facility in Marystown before being transferred to Placentia Bay in 2022, according to the company.
The company credits the good fish health and welfare throughout the production cycle to the deep pens at the site and absence of treatments. The first generation has a survival rate of 92 percent. The annual survival rate of all of the fish in the ocean farms is currently 96 percent. The fish has been farmed with no sea lice issues, says the company.
In the spring and summer of 2023, Grieg Seafood transferred the next generation of fish into three new ocean farms. The second generation will be harvested in 2024.
The first harvest is an important milestone for the company according to Grieg CEO Andreas Kvame.
“This first, successful generation shows what enormous potential Placentia Bay in Newfoundland holds for sustainable salmon farming,” said Kvame. “This is especially true in light of the booming North American market just next door, where consumers are increasingly asking for local, healthy and climate friendly food.”
