Huon Aquaculture launches first high-tech feed barge

Huon Aquaculture on Monday launched the first of four state-of-the-art feed barges.

The Tasmanian company said the feed barges, built by local steel fabrication company Haywards at AUD 14.5 million (USD 13.6 million, EUR 10 million) each, will improve the way the company feeds salmon while reducing environmental impact.

“Our new feed barges are already generating world-wide interest and we only launched our first one today. I think that interest is testament to our approach to business improvement; we scour the world for the best available technology and then try to improve it right here in Tasmania. That’s how we developed our new fortress pens and these new feed barges,” said Peter Bender, Huon managing director.

“[ Co-founder Frances Bender] and I continue to live and work in the Huon Valley and we know just how important jobs are to regional areas. We want to do our bit to help other local businesses attract and retain skilled workers in regional areas like the Huon and Channel. That’s why we try to recruit locally and source products, services and skills from local businesses like Haywards wherever possible.

“To give you an example, 15 companies and 187 people spent a total of 22,000 hours to build this one feed barge.

“To continue to grow responsibly and remain at the forefront of our industry we must constantly improve. Right now we are poised to make substantial advances in our farming operations as we grow our business and this new feed barge is another example of how we are doing that,” Bender said.

According to Huon, other benefits of the barge include high-tech feed systems that use technology to determine when the fish are hungry and when they are full, resulting in less impact on the environment.

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