The fish at Amar Seafood PEI will grow all year, as temperatures of the geothermal well water remain within the range of Atlantic halibut over the 12 months of the year.
The geothermally modified well water used for grow-outs does not require heating or cooling of incoming well water compared to other fish farming facilities. This generates significant savings in operational costs.
To accelerate growth rate of the halibut, an innovative and thermally efficient energy recovery system further increases the water temperature of the growing operations beyond the already advantageous geothermal supply.
The water in the tanks also heats the buildings at Amar Seafood PEI.
The waterdrawn from the deep saltwater wells is free of pathogens; no antibiotic treatments are required for the fish. Largely because of this, Amar Seafood PEI has now achieved Ocean Wise status for their farmed halibut from the VancouverAquarium.
Potential predators such as birds, seals or predatory fish are non-existent as the process utilizes land-based tanks.
Environmental conditions like lighting and feeding cycles can be easily controlled and adapted according to the requirements of a certain halibut growth phase.
Juvenilesarise from captive broodstock creating no negative impact on wild Atlantichalibut stocks.
Amar Seafood PEI has a strong working relationship with a variety of institutions such as the Atlantic Veterinary College, the Bio Food Tech Center, UPEIBusiness and Engineering Departments and the Culinary Institute of Canada. These institutions support the development and operations of Amar Seafood PEI.
Compared to wild fish caught on longlines, farmed halibut have a thicker fillet, can be custom ordered by size, and shipping times are short and well controlled. The product has a longer shelf life than other fish and can be supplied to the market 365 days of the year.
After 8 successful years of land-based halibut operation, Amar Seafood PEI has considerable in-house expertise and knowledge of optimal halibut growth and marketing.