The pace of growth of land-based salmon farming projects is likely to outstrip that of traditional netpen farms in future years, according to aquafeed giant Nutreco.

Parent of aquaculture feed company Skretting, Nutreco has put its money where its mouth is by investing in five early-stage land-based projects, partly to understand and gain experience in how the sector develops.

Executives at the company see salmon consumption growing at between 6-8 percent a year, but don't expect traditional netpen sites will be allowed to grow that fast because of environmental and sustainability constraints.