Thousands of Europeans will soon be finding homes in Nova Scotia.
Thanks to a couple of government loans, a fish farm near Windsor will be growing Mediterranean Sea bass.
Sustainable Fish Farming Canada will soon bring in hundreds of thousands of baby fish, said Kirk Havercroft. Restaurants and seafood lovers can have locally-grown Mediterranean Sea bass on the menu in about a year.
These new immigrants grow quickly, but require extra care since they’re used to warmer waters.
“The water temperature in the farm will have to be between 20 and 22 degrees (Celsius) throughout the year,” he said. “The conditions for European sea bass are warm, and very clear water of excellent quality.”
So they’ll have to be kept in tanks in-land with recirculated water instead of pens in the Atlantic Ocean. This is something that gets a nod of approval from the Ecology Action Centre.
Anna Magera said closed-containment aquaculture set-ups deal with some of the environmental issues with aquaculture farming. Open-net pens can spread disease and release waste and nutrients into open waters.
“We’ve heard this new farm is taking steps to explore renewable energy options and we feel this is a very positive, and progressive step,” she said.
Since they’re building land-based tanks for the new species, the Atlantic Canada Opportunity Agency asked the fish farm to try growing halibut too to see how they grow in that environment.
Havercroft said they wanted to breed this particular fish in the new farm because it’s a rising star in the aquaculture market in North America.
“I think we’re catching this species on the rise in terms of popularity,” he said. “And commercially, these fish grow very quickly and therefore we get a faster turnaround on capital.”
