Aquaculture pools belonging to Bell Fish. (Photo: Bell Fish)
AquaBounty purchases fish farming facility in Indiana
UNITED STATES
Wednesday, June 14, 2017, 01:40 (GMT + 9)
Biotechnology company AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. has entered into an agreement to purchase certain assets of Bell Fish Company, including its farming facility in Albany, Indiana, for USD 14 million.
"This acquisition marks an important milestone and provides the company with its first commercial-scale facility in the United States for growing eco-friendly AquAdvantage® Salmon. This site will enable production of healthy Atlantic salmon, which will not require vaccines or antibiotics, in a sustainable and responsible manner close to domestic consumers," stated Ronald Stotish, Chief Executive Officer of AquaBounty.
The purchase, which is expected to close within the next 30 days, will provide the company with a land-based, contained aquaculture system to grow AquAdvantage Salmon near major demand centers in the USD 2 billion US Atlantic salmon market.
Official statistics reveal that the US currently imports over 92 per cent of the farmed Atlantic salmon it consumes.
AquaBounty states that if anticipated timelines are achieved, the facility's first harvest could come as soon as the third quarter of 2019.
Once fully operational, the current facility will have an expected annual capacity of 1200 metric tons, which at current Atlantic salmon prices represents over USD 10 million a year in potential sales, with the possibility for future expansion.
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