The developers of Norwegian firm Nekst's subsea cage project say the system can prevent mortality from algae blooms, a potentially major boon for the industry in light of the most recent crisis.

The company received approvals for two development license applications to build HavLiljen, a subsea cage solution designed to speed up salmon production and reduce biological impacts.

Producing deeper underwater can effectively eliminate the need for sea lice treatments, Nekst Founder Martin Ramsdal told IntraFish.

The company applied for 16 licenses to build the land-based fish farming complex last year, which would produce about 20 million large-sized smolt for grow-out (around 20,000 metric tons).

The release of larger smolts could reduce the marine phase of farming by close to nine months, meaning less de-lousing, less disease and higher profitability and sustainability. the company said.

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Click here to visit IntraFish's extensive coverage of the Norwegian algae crisis

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The system isn't foolproof: harmful algal blooms can drop deep into the water column. For example, algae was found about 25 meters underwater in the case of the bloom in Nordland and Tromso.

The subsea project can lower the smolt cage to a desired depth and is designed for larger fish of 2.7 kilos farmed on-land, with production varying between six and eight months.

Together with Marine Construction, ABB, Maritime Engineering, the project has been underway since 2016.

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Aquaculture

Norwegian subsea project could prevent algae bloom die-offs