The exciting land-based aquaculture facility finally opened in 2024, and the first pool is now fully operational. The location poses challenges regarding corrosion, but Gigante Salmon has solved this problem using fiberglass.
The land-based aquaculture facility opened in 2024, and the first pool is now fully operational. Gigante Salmon has addressed the corrosion issue with the help of fiberglass.
Gigante Salmon, experts in salmon farming with experience dating back to 1988, has built a land-based salmon farming facility on Lille Indre Rosøya in Rødøy Municipality. The facility, named Gigante Salmon Rødøy, will consist of three pools used for food production salmon farming.
Work on the island began in 2021, and the first pool was ready to receive fish at the beginning of 2024, while work on pools 2 and 3 continues.
The first pool has an area of 8000 m², while the next two will be 7000 m² and 13000 m², respectively, and will be used for food fishing.
These are large areas with seawater where the fish live, and for workers at the facility to take care of the salmon, access over the pools is required.
Numerous meters of walkways
The salmon must be taken care of, fed, and the pool must be operated by the employees on the island. Having walkways that provide easy access across the pools is therefore essential for Gigante Salmon.
The choice of material for the walkways over the first pool at the facility primarily fell on fiberglass.
Over the pool, more than 800 meters of walkways have now been installed, most of which are made of fiberglass.
The walkways consist of grating, railings, mounting materials for cabinets, and cable management systems for various pipes and wires around the facility. It is a complete solution including design and installation delivered by us at Glassfiber Produkter AS.
So many walkways were delivered that even Gigante Salmon had to boast a little on social media.
Corrosion? Not with Fiberglass
The facility, Rødøy Municipality’s first land-based food fishing facility, is located on a small island in the open sea. The location offers varying weather conditions, and there is seawater in the tanks and in the air. In other words, it is a recipe for corrosion.
The choice of material is therefore incredibly important, and a large part of the reason why fiberglass was chosen. Fiberglass is naturally corrosion-free as it does not contain any form of metal or other elements susceptible to corrosion.
Practical solutions everywhere
After our delivery of the walkways, Gigante Salmon has implemented fiberglass in several places around the facility. For instance, fiberglass gratings are used as a walkway over to a work platform used for storing equipment, offices, and sleeping quarters for the employees at the facility. The gratings are attached to a metal frame extending from the land to the platform. A simple solution that shows how easily the fiberglass material can be implemented in various situations. Fiberglass is galvanically neutral, meaning it does not react with other metals, which can cause what we call galvanic corrosion.
When we spoke with Technical Manager Kristian Aanes, this was one of the points he highlighted when we asked about his experiences with fiberglass.
“The fact that we can more easily combine fiberglass with other parts gives us much less headache when it comes to designing and joining,” he says.
Highly recommended
Kristian has previous experience from the marine industry and knows how much time and money goes into maintenance and replacement of materials. By using fiberglass walkways, Gigante Salmon avoids maintenance such as painting and other rust treatments, saving them a lot of time and money. Kristian can therefore safely recommend fiberglass material to others.
“I would recommend fiberglass products to others in the same industry, and anyone who needs high-quality walkways and is concerned about corrosion and rust. Fiberglass is a great way to avoid it.”
With solutions from Glassfiber Produkter AS, Gigante Salmon Rødøy has walkways that will last the entire lifetime of the facility.
Watch our video about the Gigante Salmon Rødøy aquaculture facility.