Type to search

Aquaculture

PURE SALMON EXPANDS ITS REACH IN EUROPE

PURE SALMON EXPANDS

Pure Salmon expands its reach in Europe, with a new land-based salmon farm in France. Today, at the Choose France Summit, taking place at the Château of Versailles and hosted by French President, Emmanuel Macron – Pure Salmon, the land-based salmon farming company, has announced a new 10,000 tons per annum Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) facility to be built in Boulogne-Sur-Mer, in the Hauts-de-France Region in the north of the country. Pure Salmon France will be the largest salmon RAS facility in the European Union.

The new facility will represent an investment of approximately €175million (US$197m) and will create over 160 permanent jobs within the local community. The project has received significant support from the French government at local, regional and national levels, including grants and other financial support, as well as administrative assistance.

Pure Salmon produces a clean, healthy and fresher salmon that is grown in an environmentally friendly manner that protects marine ecosystems and constantly recycles the water it uses. The new state-of-the-art RAS facility will be fully integrated from hatchery and grow-out to processing and smoking. Construction of the site is expected to commence in Q4 2020, with the first harvest of market-size salmon expected in 2023.

As France is amongst the largest consumers of salmon in the world, it was a natural choice for Pure Salmon’s second site in Europe as it supports the company’s ‘local production for local consumption’ model. As such, the fish will be sold primarily to the French market in a variety of forms including smoked salmon and fillets.

Boulogne-Sur-Mer presents an ideal location for a number of reasons, not just because it is a major fishing, seafood processing and trading port but also because the site has extensive transport links to the rest of France and its neighbouring countries, ensuring a potential market of 80 million consumers within a 300km radius. The site location is close to the main A16 route inland and to the Eurotunnel.

Secondly, Boulogne-Sur-Mer is the leading fish processing and distributing centre in Europe, providing a strong network of support businesses, infrastructure and logistics, with specialised workforce and training facilities.

Finally, the city is also home to Nausicaá, Europe’s largest public aquarium as well as a major marine research and conservation centre.

Stephane Farouze, Board Director of Pure Salmon and Chairman and Founder of 8F Asset Management, commented:

“We have chosen France over other European countries because of its long reputation for producing exceptionally high-quality food, the large salmon consumer base and also for the support and assistance we have received from all levels of government in France”.

Didier Guillaume, French Minister of Agriculture and Food, commented:

“The Pure Salmon France land-based salmon facility in Boulogne-Sur-Mer leads to a significant increase in fish production in France. It is in line with the European Commission’s objectives to develop sustainable aquaculture and thereby reduce the European Union’s dependence on imports. This large scale project is therefore also fully aligned with the policies I have been implementing in favour of further developing the aquaculture industry in France.”

Xavier Bertrand, President of the Hauts de France Region, said:

“The Hauts de France Region has made work and jobs its priority, by supporting people who are working and looking for a job, and by supporting entrepreneurs who create jobs. We are here to support the 8F fund which chose to invest in Hauts-de-France, and more particularly in Boulogne-Sur-Mer! This choice allows us to position ourselves on this innovative, sustainable technology, to further complement the internationally recognized expertise and excellence of Boulogne regarding seafood.”

Frédéric Cuvillier, Former Minister, Mayor of Boulogne-Sur-Mer, and President of the Boulogne Urban Community, said: “It is with great satisfaction that I welcome the prospect of seeing a major sustainable and environmentally friendly aquaculture project being established in Boulogne-Sur-Mer. Boulogne-Sur-Mer, the leading European centre seafood processing, brings together the assets and players in the fisheries, agri-food and logistics industries that are key to the success of such a project.

Boulogne-Sur-Mer wishes to be part of the response to the problems of scarcity of fishery resources, and to overcome the major challenges of sustainability, especially through food production methods that are respectful of the environment.”

Pure Salmon started producing its first salmon at its RAS facility in Poland in 2018, which recently received its ASC (Aquaculture Stewardship Council) certification. At full capacity, the site produces 450 tons per annum. In addition to its facility in Poland and this second location in Europe, Pure Salmon has announced a number of other locations across the globe including Japan, America and China which will contribute to Pure Salmon’s goal to produce 260,000 tons of salmon per annum, all free from antibiotics, pesticides, hormones and microplastics.

Each Pure Salmon farm uses Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) technology, a proven and scalable method of aquaculture, provided by Pure Salmon’s technology partner AquaMaof Aquaculture Technologies, that sees the fish reared in the healthiest living conditions possible, that closely replicate the positive qualities of their natural environment, while significantly lowering the cost of production compared to traditional sea-cage farming.

For more information on Pure Salmon, please visit: www.pure-salmon.com

 

 

 

Tags