Fish Related Questions

Our facilities are escape-proof. The Belfast facility will be a minimum 300 feet from any open water source. Multiple mechanical barriers are in place to prevent escape in pipes. For example, our final ultra-filtration step on the discharge treatment is 0.04 micron – small enough to remove bacteria.

No, Nordic does not have any plans to use GMO fish. Based on practices and knowledge of consumers in our market at least, our decision is we will not pursue that. Genetically engineered fish are not part of the plan.

The nutritional requirements of the fish can be met with a broad range of ingredients that are derived from crops, agricultural byproduct, and sustainable fisheries.  More innovative break-through ingredients include fermented single cell proteins, insect meals, and algae oils.

Currently, feed contains approximately 15-20% marine ingredients, where 35% of that are primarily sourced from fisheries processing by-product such as heads and trimmings. The rest comes from sustainably managed fisheries.

Feed manufacturing for aquaculture is an innovative, and sustainable-minded industry.  Nordic will be working closely with the feed producers to refine our formulations that prioritize the inclusion of non-marine derived protein sources.

Nordic Aquafarms, Inc. operates on the basis that fish health and welfare is directly related to quality of our feed, our water, our husbandry practices, and our farm management. We minimize the risks to fish health and welfare by creating the highest standards in fish health management and farm biosecurity. The NAF Fish Health, Welfare, and Farm Biosecurity Management Plan is a fish health program that is evidence-based, tailored to our facilities, and establishes responsible and professional veterinarian health management. It is the diligence of NAF’s fish health team and a strong program that will minimizes disease risk to the farm and environment through proper quarantine, robust biosecurity, daily fish health assessments, proven health diagnostics, and staff education.

Yes, vaccination will be one of the many tools Nordic will employ to ensure their fish are always healthy and well cared for. Fish welfare is of paramount importance to Nordic. NAF will favor the use of preventative health tools over prescription medicines, and vaccination is one such way to protect fish against severe disease outbreak from endemic pathogens. Vaccines are biologic substances that are required to provide fish with immunity against specific diseases. Vaccination can also protect the farm against pathogen amplification by reducing the shed of pathogens and raising the threshold of pathogen load required for infection. Vaccines used for protection against high-risk endemic pathogens are prescribed by the farm veterinarian through a legal VCPR relationship (Vet-Client-Patient-Relationship).