Key Area #1: Maintain a pristine quality marine environment
Annual sampling of our ocean floor.
We adhere to an annual chemical analysis of our ocean floor samples. From these results each farm receives an environmental rating that leads to a performance-based issuing of approvals to operate, before fish are stocked.
We have a 3-bay management system of crop rotation and fallowing.
Our ocean sites are grouped in a 3-bay management system with each area designated for a particular age of fish. The first area is set aside specifically for smolts, or young salmon; the second for market-ready fish that are in their second year of growth; and the third area will be fallowed or kept out of production to let the ocean floor rest between crops - protecting the health of the fish and of the environment.
Our ocean sites are carefully located in deep waters with good tidal movement.
We provide a clean, healthy and natural environment for our fish and for other species that live in the area. All Canadian aquaculture sites undergo a rigorous environmental review under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act while US sites are similarly governed under the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
We stock our farms at low average densities.
We stock about 18 kilograms of fish for every 1000 kilograms of water. This means that our salmon only occupy about 3% of the volume of the ocean pens allowing them to swim freely in their natural environment.
How we farm in pristine, yet demanding ocean conditions
Environmental challenges have forced us to be innovative and to adapt to farming in high energy, offshore areas. Farm managers are now able to use technology to "read and react" to ocean conditions and environmental circumstances when determining a feeding system. All sites employ underwater cameras and many use automated computerized feed systems.
We raise only native species on our farms.
Our genuine Atlantic salmon come from native fish that have been swimming in North Atlantic waters in the United States and Canada for hundreds of thousands of years. Because they are bred from native stocks, they have the natural characteristics required to flourish in our ocean farms.
Our fish grow in a natural cycle with no added growth hormones. It takes up to two years for our ocean-raised salmon to grow from young smolts to a 10-pound market-ready fish.
