Aquaculture

South African land-based salmon farm hits roadblock

The Atlantis West Coast Salmon project will be delayed by up to nine months due to a site change.

Cape Town, South Africa.
Cape Town, South Africa.

South African land-based salmon company Atlantis West Coast has hit a planning roadblock as the proposed site of construction has been deemed environmentally sensitive, forcing the project to find a new home.

Construction costs are projected at around ZAR 766 million (€49.3 million/$56.4 million), while the peak funding of the project is estimated to reach around $85 million (€74.4 million), Dennis Karangwa, managing director at the company, told IntraFish.

“We have updated our financial plan for investors and they have been notified,” Kaangwa said.

The environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the new site will now take up to nine months, but despite the setback, the management of West Coast Salmon remains undaunted about the company’s prospects.

“The project is definitely continuing and we do not think there will be any significant loss in terms of the timeline for project development,” Karangwa told IntraFish.

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The original site -- located in the buffer zone of the Kogelberg biosphere reserve -- was environmentally sensitive since the construction of the RAS2020 facility would have required the clearing of critically endangered vegetation and wetlands, Jacques van Rensburg, the managing director of Nature Works, the environment consultants hired by Atlantis West Coast Salmon, told IntraFish.

“We advised West Coast Salmon to move the proposed facility to a more suitable location north of Cape Town," said van Rensburg.

"We are currently busy with the EIA at the new location, which is expected to take approximately nine months.”

RAS2020

The Atlantis West Coast Salmon project will deploy a novel concept of recirculated aquaculture system (RAS), called the RAS2020, a model patented by Veolia that is a more compact than a traditional RAS structure.

The system is designed to lower operating costs and environmental impact.

The company is applying for seven farming licenses, and projects an annual production capacity of 4,800 metric tons whole fish, or around 4,100 metric tons of head-on gutted (HOG) fish.

The EIA is an “ongoing process” and has started on the new site on the west coast of South Africa, he said. “It will most likely take an additional six to nine months to complete.”

After approval and before the construction begins, the company will take another three months in testing and disinfecting the site.

Actual construction at the site -- located at around 200km north of Cape Town -- will take about 16-18 months to complete, Karangwa said.

The project will be the first land-based salmon farm in Africa.

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Published 31 January 2019, 09:01Updated 31 January 2019, 13:24