Russian Sea Group announces launch of salmon farm in Murmansk region

OJSC "Russian sea Group" (hereinafter "the Company" or "the Group"), one of Russia's leading consumer food companies, today announces launch of the marine atlantic salmon farm on the site in Barents Sea, Murmansk region, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to the company.

Today the farm is equipped with 12 fish cages, each of 38 m diameter and 27 m depth. Built environment is identical to the living conditions of wild fish. Fish feed consists only of natural components.

The farm is operated by 12 employees. High automation ensures high production per worker. Fish farmers are working in shifts.

We put 1,2 million smolts of Atlantic salmon to this site. Smolts expect to reach 4-5 thousand tons of biomass to harvesting season 2014.

To feed fish we use the feed barge, which is equipped with automatic feed system and fish monitoring control system. The barge was specially built for Russian Sea - Aquaculture by our technological partners AKVA Group, the world's leading specialists in aquaculture equipment solutions.

Earlier the Group gained right to use 11 sites in Barents sea for salmon farming with aggregate potential farming volume of 40 thousand tons of salmon. This adds up to Group's potential farming capacity with trout farming in Karelia - both lake-based and marine-based in White sea. Total potential farming volume constitutes 70 thousand tons.

Inna Golfand, "Russian sea - Aquaculture" CEO, said: "The launch of the first sea farm for Atlantic salmon is a remarkable event for the whole Group. Our first priority is to adjust operational efficiency and to work out key production processes. In the future we are going to distribute this technology to the other farms. We believe that the potential of our sites and leading technological solutions allow us to replace up to 50% of the Norwegian salmon on the Russian domestic market.

Our main advantage is better and faster logistics to the consumers. Our salmon, farmed in Barents sea, will certainly outperform Norwegian fish in freshness and swiftness of delivery".