Facilities
AquaCon will develop Atlantic salmon production on the East Coast of the United States. AquaCon has options to purchase land, and working with permits for water intake and discharge to produce around 50,000 tons HOG and with a potential to grow more than 100,000 tons HOG. Initial production volume target of 50,000 tons will be phased in over six years and with three phases each with around 10,000 tons HOG annual production.
Locations
All sites will be located on the East Coast of US with access to water of optimal quality. These locations will have direct access to main highways and rail transportation to large U.S. consumer markets, with more than 70 million people with highest U.S. per capita salmon consumption. The different sites are chosen to de-risk operations. All sites also have access to water discharge through waste water treatment plants.
Contractor and construction management
RAUCH Inc. is a Project Management and Civil Engineering firm with headquarters in the Delmarva region. Their services include full Project Site Development for large-scale industrial sites. Whiting Turner will be responsible for construction management. They have extensive experience with wastewater, aquaculture and large-scale site projects. Whiting Turner has a turnover of USD 13bn and is located in Baltimore and on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
Support and commitment
Strong ties to the local community have been a priority from the very beginning, and our company has strong backing from both the Department of Commerce and the Department of the Environment.
“We look forward to working with you and hope the success of your project will lead to collaboration between the Maryland Department of the Environment and AquaCon AS for many more environmentally sustainable projects in Maryland.”
Ben Grumbles, Secretary – Maryland Department of the Environment.
Cooperation with IMET
The University of Maryland Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET) is a world premier R&D research institution with focus on sustainable RAS aquaculture. AquaCon has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Maryland and IMET, which will provide AquaCon access to IMET’s high-tech RAS department and its Aquaculture Research Center (ARC) in Baltimore. AquaCon will work closely together with IMET and Professor Yonathan Zohar, Director of ARC, on several R&D projects to further improve the technology and secure fish welfare in AquaCon facilities. IMET will also be important when it comes to recruiting highly qualified personnel. AquaCon’s commercial sites will maintain close ties to IMET’s research department and its student community. AquaCon will also provide the students with access to its facilities to give them real-life and hands-on experiences.
Recirculating Aquaculture Salmon Network (RAS-N)
AquaCon is a member of RAS-N, a NOAA/Sea Grant funded National Public-Private-Federal Partnership led by Professor Yonathan Zohar. RAS-N consists of academia, industry and federal labs in five states across the U.S. RAS-N’s mission is to facilitate the growth of environmentally-friendly, sustainable and economically viable US Atlantic salmon RAS production, in order to promote better food security and reduce the current trade deficit associated with salmon imports. It is also to help policymakers, federal and state agencies and industry identify gaps in knowhow, technology and other areas, and responsibly allocate resources to promote an economically feasible and environmentally responsible land-based U.S. Atlantic salmon industry.