Choose Arctic Char – the queen of lakes
A robust, healthy and delicate salmonide for the exquisite cuisine
Order eyed roe from the newest generation now!
Why arctic char?
Arctic char is a very delicate fish,- red meat colour like salmon and trout but a milder taste and finer structure due to the shorter muscle fibers. The classic fish oil taste often found in salmon is absent in char. Char can be cooked in every way; fried, owen baked, raked, graved and smoked, but especially stands out in sushi. Local producers in Norway have shown that char is especially suited as a niche product in a high-end market. This can provide good margins for the producer.Arctic char is especially suited for land-based aquaculture as they thrive in higher densities than most other farmed species as long as the water quality is good. Arctic char is also a healthy, robust and calm fish who is very feed oriented, and because of their adaptation to cold mountain lakes, they still eat and grow at temperatures close to zero. Their comfort temperature for growth is between 9-12 degrees, which is cost saving as heating may be unnecessary.
«The Arctic Red strain grows 60% faster than the local char population, and has a 95% decrease in early maturation compared to them. They reach slaughter weight of 800g at around 24 months counting from startfeeding in temp 9-13 degrees in RAS followed by 0.5-20 degrees in lake cages.»
Mads Dorenfeldt Jenssen, CEO, Telemarkrøye
The Arctic Red strain approximatly follows the Skretting growth table for char by 0.7, a table made from a very optimized scientific growth trial.
Arctic Red
In 2014, Klosser Innovasjon started project Arctic Red to support the establishment of land based fish farming of Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) in Norway. Arctic Red is the name of our breeding population, a commercial strain of char that is selected for traits which makes it well suited to thrive in modern aquaculture facilities and as an exclusive fish product.
We are now at generation three in our breeding population, and we have commercial eyed roe for sale every winter for norwegian and international char farmers.
Do you want to buy char roe?
The breeding program
In our own breeding facility at Rena, Klosser operates a long term breeding project to develop a fish strain that is well adapted to thrive in modern production facilities, and posesses the most desired product traits. The first broodstock came to us in 2015 consisting of roe from several different char populations, both wild caught and privatly bred, and we have since then selected for the best fish to parent the next generations.
The traits we are selecting for are
- Better growth/feed utilization and condition factor
- Later onset of maturation (generation interval of 4 years)
- Good health
- Good meat quality and colouration
In modern breeding, one can expect up to 15% increase in growth every generation.
Our focus on bio security
Genotyping
The selection is per now phenotypic, but we are also using genotyping to keep control over the family tree and to avoid inbreeding. The roe you buy from us will to a large extent be from broodstock that are crossed based upon a good match regarding kinship and breeding value.
Bio security
Our breeding station is one of the most biosecure small farms in Norway. The farm is constructed as a pure flow through system with water intake below the ground, well protected from contact with wild fish and other pathogen sources.
The breeding station is a closed operation with no introduction of new gene material from the outside. That means that there are no intake of new fish, or return of broodstock from outside of the excisting breeding core, which protects it from disease.
The facility and the waterway surrounding the farm has been free from unvanted diseases for decades, including BKD and IPNV, furunculosis and the paracite gyrodactalus. But to be sure, the broodstock is randomly tested for BKD and IPNV every year before any roe is shipped out.
The roe is desinfected twice,- once before incubation, and again before packing and shipping. While incubating, uninfertilized roe is removed by hand several times a week to prevent saprolegnia/mold from forming and damaging living roe. It is very important to us that your delivery has a high quality and biosecurity standard.
Shipping
Our brood stock is late autumn spawners where the roe is ready for shipping during January. Every other year we will have virgin spawners, so the roe size may vary, but we do our best to separate smaller roe from bigger in addition to the different spawning dates for the best hatching logistics at your facility. The roe is delivered by airplane, delivery service, or for smaller national orders,- express over night package via Bring/Posten. You are also welcome to pick up the order personally and visit our fish at the breeding station.
Our story
Why is Klosser Innovasjon operating a fish breeding facility you may think? The aquculture industry in Norway accounts for high value creation and large export revenues, and is mainly located on the coast. With the development of land-based aquaculture facilities, there is no longer any reason for it being exclusive to the coastline. With large freshwater resources and a species like char, land-based fish farming can become a growth industry in other parts of the country as well. Klosser, being a business development company, wanted to create the foundation for starting land-based aquaculture. A breeding program is the main pillar for doing this, as it gives access to eggs of good genetic material,- a must for economic success and animal welfare.
The breeding program
In our own breeding facility at Rena, Klosser operates a long term breeding project to develop a fish strain that is well adapted to thrive in modern production facilities, and possesses the most desired product traits. The first broodstock came to us in 2015 consisting of roe from several different char populations, both wild caught and privately bred, and we have since then selected for the best fish to parent the next generations.
The traits we are selecting for are
- Better growth/feed utilization and condition factor
- Later onset of maturation (generation interval of 4 years)
- Good health
- Good meat quality and colouration
New growth industries
Norway needs new growth industries to realize the transition from the oil economy to other more sustainable industries . An important part of this is fish farming, where Norway is world leading for salmonids. In 2014, Klosser Innovation took the initiative to focus on promoting freshwater fish farming, and the choice fell on Arctic char. Moving the fish ashore in closed facilities provides opportunities for business activities and value creation also for other people than those who live near the coast.
Water intake
How much water is available on the property? What is the water source? How many cubic meters of water is accessable per minute? Does the water have to be pumped in or can it be taken from a higher altitude by natural gravitation? Is there an alternative water source? What is the temperature profile throughout the year? What is the water quality?
Water discharge
Where can the water be released? How much emission can the recipient tolerate, both in terms of quantity and content of nitrogen and phosphate? Emission from the aquaculture facilities higly depends production intensity and water treatment technology.
Property and infrastructure
Where do you envision the facility to be located? Is the location regulated for commercial activities? Is the property big enough? Can it be expanded later? Is there a roads and other infrastructure connected to the area?
Strategy, marketing, sales and distribution
What are you going to sell? Are you going to further process the fish? Who is the customer? What are your distribution channels like? Are you going to collaborate with others?
Size and investments
How much do you want to produce? What will be the production volume at full operation? What is your access to capital?
Competence
Do you have previous aquaculture experience? Or will it be a completely new profession? The law requires a level of education or experience to be allowed to be in charge of or operate an aquaculture facility,- which is to be considered before building.
Licensing
In order to start an aquaculture business, you must have a permit/license from the public authority. After NVE has granted a license in relation to water intake and water flow, the full aquaculture application is processed by the county consil in cooperation with the other public authorities and makes the final decision to grant or deny the application. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority assesses biosafety and animal welfare, the State Administrator assesses emission under the Act of Pollution and the Directorate of Fisheries has standards for construction and prevention of escaping fish.
Klosser can advice
The laws and regulations for aquaculture are unfortunately poorly designed for land based fresh water aquaculture, which makes it difficult to start as a farmer. Klosser Innovation can advice on this and works closely with the sector authorities to create good framework of conditions that ensure the sustainable production of char.
Today there are mostly two facility types that are used in Norway; RAS and flow-through systems. RAS stands for Recirculating Aquaculture Systems and is used to a large extent all over the world. The RAS facilities are designed to be able to produce large quantities of fish with relatively low water consumption and a high degree of water treatment. An advanced RAS system can recycle up to 99% of the water. How high a recycling rate you choose depends on your need of saving water, and how much control you want over the temperature. A full-scale RAS system is technologically demanding, and can result in very high investment costs.
The alternative to RAS are flow-through systems, where the water has an in-out principle and does not circulate inside of the system. Another alternative is a hybrid solution where some of the water is reused by gas control, but without the biofiltration treatment. They have a lower technological complexity than full scale RAS and are often called reuse facilities or semi-RAS. Char works in all systems, but with different growth curves due to the different temperature profiles throughout the year within each farm.
Through several years of work, Klosser has built expertise in areas such as license applications, sales and marketing channels and working towards investors. We have established an extensive network nationally and internationally and assist serious players who are considering land based fish farming.
Are you wondering which type of facility that would suit your business idea? And which suppliers there are on the market? Do you already have a plan and would like to discuss roe deliveries?
Are you considering becoming a fish farmer?
Contact: Marie Moen Unneberg
Marie Moen Unneberg
Marie har bachelor i bioteknologi og master innen bioinformatikk og anvendt statistikk fra NMBU og Wageningen University. Hun har ni års arbeidserfaring fra næringsmiddelindustrien. Gjennom arbeid hos Nortura og Finsbråten har Marie hatt ansvar innen produktutvikling, produksjons- og prosessutvikling, emballasjeutvikling, logistikk, kvalitet og markedsføring. Hun har jobbet med prosjekter som tar for seg hele verdikjeden bra bås til bord. Som rådgiver i inkubatoren bidrar Marie til å skape og realisere innovasjonsprosjekter hos etablerte og nystartede bedrifter. Hun har spesielt ansvar for næringsmiddelindustrien, men jobber også inn mot andre prosjekter hvor det er behov for rådgivning, nettverksbygging og kompetanseheving. På fritiden er Marie glad i å bake og lage mat, samt å bedrive ulike friluftsaktiviteter med familien.
Marie Moen Unneberg
Inkubatorrådgiver
Telefon: 473 09 773
E-post: marie@klosser.no
Do you want to order roe? Wondering what kind of facility that would fit your needs? Wondering wich suppliers that are available on the marked?
Contact: Karina Hauge Johansen
Karina Hauge Johansen
Karina har en bachelor i husdyrvitenskap fra NMBU, og en internasjonal mastergrad i avl og genetikk gjennom NMBU og Wageningen Universitet i Nederland. Rett etter endt utdannelse begynte hun i jobben som forsker for røyeavlsprosjektet «Arctic Red» i Klosser Innovasjon, som hun nå er prosjektleder for. Her har hun ansvaret for avlsplanleggingen, drift og gjennomføring av rognproduksjon, samt at hun deltar i rekruttering av nye røyeoppdrettere. Klosser ønsker også å drive forskningsarbeid på røye, og Karina leder dette arbeidet gjennom søknadsskriving, design av forsøk og gjennomføring i samarbeid med forskningspartnere. På fritiden driver Karina med hest og konkurranse-ridning.