Oslo, Norway-based aquaculture firm AquaCon has acquired a separate property in pursuit of its goal to build an Atlantic salmon recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) in the U.S.
The company originally planned to build multiple salmon RAS sites in the U.S., including a 1.2-million-square-foot aquaculture facility in Cambridge, Maryland, U.S.A., and received investments from prominent aquaculture companies to do so. The company later pulled out of its plans after local officials opposed the project.
Now, the company has secured 160 acres on a former naval training center – the U.S. Bainbridge Naval Training Center in Cecil County, located in the northern part of the state of Maryland.
AquaCon Board Chair Henrik Tangen told SeafoodSource that the company is working with business development services firm Bainbridge Development Corporation and others to evaluate the suitability of the site for an Atlantic salmon RAS.
“Due diligence of the various important criteria, such as access to water from the Susquehanna River, electric energy, wastewater treatment, and logistics (access roads and efficient distribution to customers as site is just off I-95), is very positive,” Tangen said.
The first phase of the planned facility would produce 10,000 metric tons (MT) of Atlantic salmon annually, Tangen said. At full build-out, the facility would reach 20,000 MT of production and have 300 employees.
“AquaCon is working on design (RAS part is close to completed) and permitting of the facility, with the goal of starting construction first half 2025 and with first harvest in the first half of 2028,” Tangen said.
Overall, the new location for the project would entail a USD 320 million (EUR 287 million) investment, according to AquaCon. Tangen said the company is cooperating with the University of Maryland’s Institute of Marine and Environment Technology (IMET) on the project, and the company said its projects will maintain ties with the IMET’s research department throughout.
“IMET, located in downtown Baltimore, is one of the world’s leading research facilities for RAS aquaculture production with a focus on salmon,” Tangen said. “AquaCon looks forward to collaboration with the State of Maryland, Cecil County, Port Deposit, BDC, IMET, and the community as it develops an industry-leading facility that will provide significant economic benefits to the region.”
The Cecil Whig reported that the project is the first publicly announced development on the former naval training center, and the Cecil County Office of Economic Development celebrated the deal.
Bainbridge Development Corporation Executive Director Toni Sprenkle told the Cecil Whig that the deal will be a “very good use for Bainbridge.”
“There are unique attributes with this. It’s close to the Susquehanna River, so it can pull large amounts of water,” she told the paper.
