NEWS

Barramundi is claimed to be one of the finest fish to eat, with a taste comparable to sea bass or Dover sole. But because of supply problems it is fish that seldom reaches the tables of UK consumers.

However, all this is about to change following the successful completion of a state-of-the-art indoor fish farm built in the New Forest by Aquabella Group plc. The farm has been constructed on a 3.5 acre site near Lymington and houses 48 indoor tanks with an array of water treatment facilities to ensure pristine growing conditions.

No additives or hormones are given to the fish which are maintained at a constant temperature of around 28 degrees C to ensure optimum growing conditions. The unit is now one of Europe’s largest indoor fish farms and will initially produce 400 tonnes every year, although this figure is likely to increase over time.

The creation of such a large recirculation system was a major and complex job, and this is why Aquabella called in Fusion Marine to carry out the pipe fabrication and installation of the piping. Over 100m of different size PE pipes were used in the construction, which included integrating different recirculation systems within the farm. The range of pipe sizes were used in the construction ranged in diameter from 50mm to 900mm and the work including incorporating many tight turns

The farm is now operating well and while initial stocks of fingerlings have come from Australasia, there are plans to build a hatchery so that future supplies will be locally bred. Recently, Waitrose became the first supermarket to stock New Forest barramundi.