NUTRECO INVESTS IN NORWEGIAN COD CULTURE
Nutreco Holding N.V. has bought 56% of the recently established Cod
Culture Norway AS (CCN), the world's largest planned cod hatchery, based
in Bergen, Norway. The combination of the know-how in CCN and Nutreco
Aquaculture's feed and farming technology will make it possible to farm
cod in future.
The purchase of shares fits in Nutreco Aquaculture's strategy to
develop new species, other than salmon. A consistent increase in demand
for white fish and seafood in general throughout Europe makes cod a
particularly interesting species for modern fish farming. Nutreco
Aquaculture Research Centre (ARC) was one of the first research
organisations, world-wide, to discover the cod fingerlings' nutritional
requirements and how to feed them successfully. CCN combines advanced
technological solutions with high levels of competence. The initiative to
establish CCN came from Bergen Aqua and Ferme Marine de Douhet (FMD), two
companies with the complementary knowledge needed to succeed in cod
fingerling production.
The initial annual production target at CCN is three million
fingerlings but the project design allows for a further expansion. The
first fingerlings will be ready in 2002. These small fishes will then be
transferred to farming operations for further growth. Two years later (in
2004) the farmed cod will have reached 3kg or more and be ready for the
consumer markets. Cod is a white fish species, well known by the consumers
all over Europe and in the USA. Cod is recognised as one of the most
promising species for modern aquaculture. Much of the proven technology
used for the on-growing period for Atlantic salmon can also be used for
cod.
(The Aquafeed.com Newsletter, Issue 21 Vol. 1. 2000)
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