Billund, Denmark-based aquaculture systems firm Billund Aquaculture has begun construction of a recirculation aquaculture system (RAS) hatchery for Chilean salmon farmer Salmones Austral.
The facility, located in the Llaquepe sector, on the southern bank of the Reloncaví Estuary, in Los Lagos region, will have an initial annual production capacity of six million post-smolt Atlantic salmon weighing 300 grams, and will use both freshwater and seawater in its operations. The hatchery is slated to open in the second quarter of 2021.
The project is a milestone for inland aquaculture in Chile, as “it opens a new stage of large-scale investments.”
“This is a new era, since it lays the foundations for the mixed model, which consists of a grow-out phase on land to produce a more robust fish for growing out in the sea, thus achieving a more efficient and sustainable production cycle,” Billund Aquaculture Chile general manager Marcelo Varela told SalmonExpert.
Varela predicted the project will be the starting point for more RAS seawater initiatives to develop quickly in Chile.
Midyear, Los Ángeles, Bio Bio, Chile-based Salmones Austral reached an agreement with three banks for a USD 40 million (EUR 35.5 million) loan to continue with its USD 100 million (EUR 88.2 million) investment plan for the next three years.
In early May, the salmon farmer got approval from Chile’s financial market regulator, CMF, to register its shares in the securities register – the last regulatory step needed before listing on the stock exchange and launching an initial public offering. The bank loan was not to replace the IPO, but will allow the firm to continue with the proposed investment plan. Given the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the public offering will be held off until market conditions improve.
Photo courtesy of Salmones Austral
