MARINE OILS AND PROTEINS
The world’s first industrial plant for processing of the marine copepod Calanus finmarchicus Isak Bøgwald and Hogne Abrahamsen, Calanus AS
The plant is located above the Arctic circle, in the city of Sortland, Norway.
The Norwegian company Calanus AS is currently building the world’s first full-scale industrial plant for processing of the marine copepod Calanus finmarchicus, located above the Arctic Circle in the city of Sortland in northern Norway. The project was triggered by the decision of the Norwegian government’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries to open for commercial harvesting of the species, along with an increasing demand for the company’s products. This decision provides predictability for further investments and puts the company in a good position to supply an increasing number of customers with our health and nutrition products derived from C. finmarchicus. The plant project has a total investment budget of €18 million, of which €7 million is to be financed with equity, and will have an annual processing capacity of up to 10-12,000 tons of raw material.
Sustainable harvesting Considering that the annual biomass production of Calanus sp. is larger than all fish and mammal species combined in the Norwegian Sea (approx. 300 million tons, Skjoldal, 2004), and the development of new technology to minimize bycatch, harvesting the species is deemed sustainable by both scientists and the government. The annual commercial quota is set at 254,000 tons. This is less than 0.1% of the annual production and a statement to the precautions that are taken to ensure sustainability. Most of the quota is to be harvested outside of the 1,000 m bathymetric contour line (oceanic region), which has incited the company to develop state-of-the-art oceanic harvesting technology for C. finmarchicus. Calanus AS is certified for MarinTrust (previously IFFO RS) for its commitment to responsible practices in the areas of raw material procurement and food and feed safety.
Aquafeed: Advances in Processing & Formulation Vol 12 Issue 3 2020
