First 160 000 fingerlings moved to the Grow Out – all phases of the farming process are again in use

Some of the first fingerlings moved to the restarted Grow Out unit. These fingerlings, hatched in March, now weigh approximately 50 grams.

At Fifax Eckerö facility, a batch of more than 160 000 fish was moved last week from the fingerling unit to the first Grow Out unit that has been restarted. Through the restart of the unit all main phases of the farming process are again in use. In parallel, new solutions that further improve biosecurity and water quality have been taken into use by the company, in line with the investment plan.

The fish which were moved to the Grow Out unit are the ones that have grown the fastest out of the first egg batch received in March. The whole batch has developed in line with targets, and the remaining fish of the batch will be moved to accompany the first ones shortly. The fingerlings hatched from eggs received later during the summer are presently developing well in the first feed- and fingerling units. Yesterday (Wednesday 4 October 2023) we also received the next egg batch of 800 000 pieces at the hatchery.

“Now that we have started the first of our three Grow Out units, all main phases of the farming process of the factory are again in use, from the hatchery through the fingerling unit and to the actual grow out to full size. Technically, we now have 1000-ton capacity in use, and following the further development of the fish stock, we take more capacity into use”, the CEO of Fifax, Samppa Ruohtula, says pleased.

In parallel with the restart of the farming operations, the company has now implemented most of the development investments planned for 2023, with the objective of further improving biosecurity, water quality and farming efficiency.

“We have put significant focus on biosecurity, strengthened the compartmentalization of the facility, and increased the number of hygiene zones. In terms of water treatment, all water pumped from the sea is now treated with ozone already at our pumping station down by the sea, long before the water even arrives inside our fenced factory area, which further heightens biosecurity. In the internal water circulation, we have expanded UV treatment to be a part of every separate water treatment unit. We have also expanded the capacity of the hatchery and first feed unit.”

All of the water in Fifax Recirculating Aquaculture System facility – at full capacity amounting to approximately 25 million liters – is purified every hour. In the circulation process, solid waste, nitrogen, phosphorous and carbon dioxide are continuously removed, the pH and oxygen levels are adjusted, and bacteria and pathogens are combatted. The purpose of all phases of the process is to guarantee optimal growth conditions for the fish.

“The more stable the water quality is, the better the fish does and grows. The impact of the actions implemented this year already look promising from this perspective,” Ruohtula describes the significance of the new investments.