Miami, Fl ,July 11, 2021 OnFriday, July 9, 2021 , Atlantic Sapphire Denmark A/S, a wholly-owned subsidiary ofAtlantic Sapphire ASA (the "Company" or "Atlantic Sapphire "), had an incident in one of its saltwater growout systems. The other growout system in theDenmark facility was unaffected. The Company's preliminary analysis, which remains subject to change, indicates that maintenance work performed in the filtration system caused water quality to quickly deteriorate, resulting in elevated mortality.Atlantic Sapphire is continuously improving its operating procedures to ensure that all actions taken by the farm operators do not pose a risk to the stability of the systems, therefore impacting the fish. However, human error altered the water levels in the RAS system and allowed previously stagnant water to flow into the tanks. To minimize the risk of a similar incident reoccurring, the Company has updated certain operating procedures and such changes will take effect immediately. Further, the system in question had a larger standing biomass than the growout systems in the US (split in two). TheDenmark facility had not been split in two, because this modification was not practically possible with the farm fully stocked with fish. Now this modification is possible and will be performed, which will reduce the impact of future mortality events in a system. Approximately 400 tons (HOG) of fish is expected to be lost, equivalent of around 17% of annualized harvest volumes from theDenmark facility at steady state production. The fish would have been harvestable in H2 2021. The direct financial impact of the incident after expected insurance proceeds is estimated toUSD 3 million . For further information, please contact:Johan E. Andreassen Chairman ,Atlantic Sapphire ASA , and CEO,Atlantic Sapphire USA LLC ; Karl Øystein Øyehaug Managing Director,Atlantic Sapphire ASA , and Chief Financing Officer,Atlantic Sapphire USA LLC investorrelations@atlanticsapphire.com AboutAtlantic Sapphire ASA Atlantic Sapphire is pioneering Bluehouse® (land-raised) salmon farming, locally, and transforming protein production, globally.Atlantic Sapphire has been operating its innovation center inDenmark since 2011 with a strong focus on R&D and innovation to equip the Company with the technology and procedures that enable the Company to commercially scale up production in end markets close to the consumer. In the US, the Company has identified and obtained the requisite permits to construct its Bluehouse® in the ideal location inHomestead, Florida , just south ofMiami . The Company has completed Phase 1 construction, which provides the capacity to harvest approximately 10,000 tons (HOG) of salmon annually. The Company completed its first commercial harvest in the US inSeptember 2020 .Atlantic Sapphire has secured the key US water permits to produce up to 90,000 tons onsite, and has a targeted harvest volume in 2031 of 220,000 tons.
Click here for more information
© Oslo Bors ASA, source