This summer, the first phase of the AQUAPHOENIX project begins for partners in Åland
“In Åland, we have a special situation. Anything we can do to reduce the load of nitrogen and phosphorus is going to benefit us.”
Rosita Broström, Executive Director at Ålands Fiskodlarförening R.F, describes the challenge facing local aquaculture producers. Broström is coordinating aspects of the AQUAPHOENIX project taking place in Åland: an autonomous region situated in the Finnish archipelago in the Baltic Sea.
Fish farming in Åland has huge potential for growth, with the area being well positioned to supply regional and international markets with healthy, sustainable food.
But this growth requires continuous commitment to sustainability. In Åland, fish farming permits depend on compliance with strict regional limits for nitrogen and phosphorus emissions. To scale up production while safeguarding the environment, there is a pressing need to manage emissions.
Balancing aquaculture emissions
Fish farms produce sludge, or waste containing feed remnants and feces. This product emits nitrogen and phosphorus (N+P), which can in turn negatively impact pollution, water quality and nutrient levels.
The AQUAPHOENIX project takes a groundbreaking approach to N+P management by installing sludge collection technologies in active fish farms across Norway and Åland. This technology is designed to pump and remove sludge from aquaculture pens and the marine environment, before storing and treating it for reuse.
Sludge collection has the potential to reduce N+P emissions, thus allowing fish farmers to scale up production while ensuring healthy seas. The implementation of this technology “would be an absolute game changer,” says Broström. “Not just for Åland, but for the entire Baltic Sea Region.”
Responding to regional conditions
Sludge collection technology is already being tested and used by fish farmers in Norwegian fjords who are taking part in AQUAPHOENIX. Fish farms in Åland experience very different conditions – including more shallow waters, stronger currents, and lower levels of salinity – to their Norwegian counterparts. AQUAPHOENIX partners therefore need to take regional characteristics into account and develop tailored solutions to sludge management.
Åland fish farms require a wider, more shallow pen than the deeper waters of Norwegian fjords. In the initial stages of the Åland installation, farmers and industry experts will install custom-made cages to collect sludge. They will also assess the effects of the region’s stronger currents on sludge pumping. These initial activities will lay the groundwork for developing an effective, fit to purpose system for transporting sludge from offshore pens to on-land sites, where it can be treated and stored for further processing.
Taking the first steps
Because of Åland’s distinct regional characteristics, AQUAPHOENIX is taking a phased approach to the installation and testing of sludge collection technologies in this area.
The goal of the first phase is to ensure that sludge collection technologies and supporting infrastructure are fit for purpose in the context of the Åland archipelago. Partners will test specially designed pens and pumping technology to verify that sludge can be effectively gathered from offshore fish farms.
“In phase one, we are testing the cage and the pump and trying to quantify how much sludge we are collecting with this technology in place,” Broström explains.
Testing the pump is only the first step. In later stages of the project, AQUAPHOENIX aims to store, dewater and ultimately recycle the sludge collected from Åland fish farms. Before these stages can commence, however, “we need to know how much sludge we can collect.”
Phase One of the Åland work plan will commence in Summer 2025, with participating fish farmers installing the cages and pumps at active fish farms in the archipelago. It represents a crucial first step for the AQUAPHOENIX work plan in Åland, which will work towards the objective of managing N+P emissions and enabling sustainable growth for the aquaculture industry.
