Solar Sustainable Aquaculture

Contribution to the decarbonisation of Portugal, by avoiding CO2 emissions: with a clean energy production of around 96 MWh per year, the solar energy central will avoid the emission of 19,6 tonnes of CO2 every year. This is equivalent to the average CO2 absorption capacity of 1,300 adult trees.

Cost reduction for the final client: the decentralized energy production through renewable sources, close to the consumption site, helps to avoid distribution costs, making this a more competitive option than reverting to the national grid. Furthermore, the decreased dependency of the company on the national grid, makes it less vulnerable to price fluctuations and fiscal charges.

Viveiros da Espargueira Lda was founded in 2005. From that date to 2018, the company used the existing infrastructure to produce shrimps and did some tank improvements with the goal of adapting it to sea bass and bream farming. However, during this period the production was residual, and therefore the facilities ended up neglected.

In June 2018, the company started a new project with the goal of becoming a National reference in Aquaculture, NaturaFish. In that year, It developed a profound renovation of its facilities and have introduced the first alevins in September of that same year. Due to the 2-year cycle of production, the first sales occurred in June 2020.

NaturaFish was created to meet the growing global demand for natural, sustainable aquaculture by becoming Portugal’s leader in the farming of valuable local species for which demand exceeds biologically sustainable fishing levels, such as European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata). Its farming methods ensure animal wellbeing and create a positive environmental impact.

Location, experience, technology and innovation are success keys, working with nature, not against it.

NaturaFish’s first site is a 19-ha, salt-water, natural-pond farm in the Alvor estuary, in the Algarve southern province of Portugal. The farm is located 2.6 km from the river mouth. The farm’s ponds are part of the estuary and benefit from the natural water renovation occurring with the tidal exchange. Since there is no runoff from intensive agriculture or other industrial land uses upriver, the water quality in Alvor is excellent – clean and nutrient rich – key features in the raising of natural seabass and seabream, which feed on what the tide naturally brings with each water renovation. Salinity levels, water renovation, biodiversity, nutrition, weather, and other environmental conditions are all ideal for the farming of European seabass and gilthead seabream, which as wild fish are a part of the estuary ecosystem.

The Alvor farm is a parcel fully licensed for aquaculture inside a bird sanctuary that is part of Natura 2000, the EU network of nature protection areas. The heightened level of environmental protection that comes from being inside the Natura 2000 park ensures the long-term preservation of the environment surrounding the farm, including biodiversity and water quality, both key to the production of natural fish. Effectively, the Natura 2000 designation offers environmental insurance protection that substantially increases the value of the site.

NaturaFish’s proprietary farm management system gathers data from each pond allowing its team to remotely monitor and in some cases control water renovation, oxygen levels, temperature, feeding activity, and pathogens. The system is accessible via a proprietary mobile app allowing for 24/7 remote monitoring and management. Automatic SMS notifications inform of changes in conditions requiring the attention of a human. E.g., unusual changes in water temperature, water levels, feeding activity, or the suspected presence of pathogens.

Presets direct the system to automatically respond to changes in conditions in each individual pond without human intervention. For example, when oxygen concentration falls below a certain preset level, the system fires off the respective oxygen pumps until adequate oxygen concentration levels are restored to within acceptable limits, at which point the pumps are automatically disconnected. The system notifies the team of the occurrence – the change in conditions as well as any action taken.

The NaturaFish team has decades of experience in natural pond farming in Portugal’s clean inlets and estuaries.