UAE’s ADQ to explore building land-based fish farm

Dubai Tourism

• Farm to specialise in rainbow trout
• Could produce 3,000 tonnes a year
• Modelled on Finnish facilities

ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company, has signed an agreement with a Finnish aquaculture technology company to explore the feasibility of developing a land-based fish farming facility.

Finnforel will collaborate with ADQ on the fish farm that could have a capacity of producing three thousand tonnes per year. 

The farm will cultivate rainbow trout, a cold-water fish species, by using ‘recirculating aquaculture systems’, which use advanced biofiltration systems to filter and purify environmental contaminants. The system can also recirculate and reuse water within a closed system. 

The facility, modelled on Finnforel’s indoor aquaculture concept, would be located in Kezad’s dedicated zone for aquaculture and related industries, ADQ said in a statement. 

Finnforel

Approximately 70 percent of the total seafood consumed in the UAE is currently imported, with the total volume of salmon imports alone amounting to 10 thousand tonnes per year. 

“With imports currently catering to the vast majority of the demand for protein in the UAE, our focus is to work towards closing supply gaps by introducing a new way of cultivating high-quality seafood that is cherished for its nutritional value,” said Mansour AlMulla, deputy group chief executive officer at ADQ. 

Pekka Viljakainen, co-founder and CEO of Finnforel Group, said the company plans “to build a network of local facilities based on our tried-and-tested vertically integrated concept”.

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Finnforel’s indoor aquaculture factories provide a controlled environment that allows for year-round production. The company covers the entire value chain, from hatchery to farming, processing and packaging of consumer fish products on-site. It also aims for zero waste and emissions. 

The company operates two recirculating aquaculture systems facilities in Finland which have a production volume of three thousand tonnes per year.

ADQ’s appetite for investment

ADQ has made several investments in food-related companies, including a majority equity stake in fresh food producer Unifrutti Group; an investment in trading and food processing firm Louis Dreyfus Company; a 50 percent stake in Al Dahra Holding, an Abu Dhabi-based agribusiness specialising in animal feed and essential food commodities.

ADQ also holds a majority stake in Agthia Group, a food and beverage company that operates in 45 countries globally with more than 35 brands, such as Al Ain Water. 

ADQ launched fresh produce and agtech company Silal in 2020 to diversify food sources and increase locally grown, raised and manufactured food.