Jackson Kimle, vice-president of Inland Sea, says Reicks View Farms of Lawler, Iowa, recently made an anchor investment in a proposed $50 million salmon aquaculture construction project slated to begin late this year or early 2018. Kimle says Reicks View Farms Investment brings Inland Sea-Harlan LLC closer to their equity capital goal although investment opportunities are still available for accredited investors.

He says the salmon raising facility, as proposed, will have a two-acre footprint in Harlan, chosen due to its readily available, low-cost utilities and water and excellent access to highway, interstate, and air transportation. The proposed facility will include a technologically advanced, highly automated recirculating grow-out tank system designed to capture economies of scale and world-class bio-security.

When fully operational, Inland Sea-Harlan expects to produce and harvest approximately 5.3 million pounds annually. Kimle says the company believes inland salmon production represents a significant opportunity because of its broad market appeal and supply constraints in both wild-catch and seaside aquaculture. Per capita, salmon consumption in the U.S. is second behind shrimp as the most consumed seafood and has the most upside potential.

The primary sources of salmon consumed in the U.S. are Norway, Scotland and Chile with most salmon consumed in the Midwest coming from approximately 4,500 to 6,500 miles away. Inland Seas-Harlan believes there is a global need to increase and shift salmon production to scalable, sustainable methods like those proposed by the company.

(KNOD/Harlan)