Dive into the ABCs of sustainable, natural methods of aquaculture at Arnarlax
Broodstock
The broodstock are the parent fish which provide the eggs and sperm (milt) required to produce new generations.
Eggs
The fertilised eggs take 60 days to hatch when placed in an incubator kept at 8 °C. After 25–30 days in the incubator, the eggs have developed to the stage where the eyes of the salmon are clearly visible as two black dots inside the egg.
Fry
The egg hatches when the eggshell cracks open, liberating the baby fish (fry) inside. When it hatches, the fry is attached to a yolk sac, which provides it with the sustenance it needs during its first few weeks of life. From now on, the fish’s growth and development will depend entirely on temperature.
Initial feeding
When most of the yolk sac has been absorbed, the fry can be moved from the incubator into a fish tank. They are now ready for initial feeding. The water temperature is kept at 10-14°C, and the fry are exposed to light 24 hours a day. The initial feeding period lasts for six weeks.
Vaccination
As they grow, the fry is sorted and moved to larger tanks. Well ahead of their ‘smoltification’, all the fish are vaccinated.
Smoltification
The process whereby juvenile fish transition from a life in fresh-water to a sea-going existence is called smoltification. During this process, the fish develop a silver sheen to their bellies, while their backs turn a blue-green colour. The gills of juvenile fish also change when they become a smolt.
On-growing
The farming of fish for human consumption takes place in net-pens – large, enclosed nets suspended in the sea by flotation devices. In addition to a solid anchorage, net-pens require regular cleaning and adequate measures to prevent the farmed fish from escaping. Growth in net pens is affected by feeding, light, temperature and water quality.
Harvesting
After approximately 12-24 months after transfer to the farm sites, the fish are ready for harvesting, depending on the season of the fish. The fish are transported live by wellboat to the harbor next to the processing plant. They are then carefully transferred to the plant itself. The fish are stunned and bled out using high-tech equipment and always in accordance with the applicable public regulations.
After harvesting, the final product is head-on-gutted salmon.
Sales
The salmon is sold by our sales team fresh whole-gutted and as pre-rigor salmon fillets and distributed to markets domestically and around the world.
