Spring Salmon

In 2022, salmon imports to Israel reached 58,500 tons in live fish terms, resulting in an average market growth of 6% per year since 2010, with an average price increase of 2.5% per year.

The technology chosen by Invali Technologies allows for the first-time cultivation of this fish in Israel, providing the producer with a strong capability to compete with imports and certainly surpass them in product quality metrics (freshness and health). Several salmon farms utilizing this technology have been established globally, tailored for local markets. These farms have been set up in a variety of environments and climates: from the Swiss Alps to the deserts of Dubai and the plains of Florida, with annual production outputs ranging from a few hundred tons to tens of thousands.

The facility is planned to market 40 tons of salmon per year, with its main objectives being to assess the economic viability and quality of local cultivation, to evaluate technologies for closed systems, and to gain experience for the design and operation of commercial systems. Currently, among the partners in the venture are KKL, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Shan Group, Zemach Feed Mill, the Fish Farmers Organization, and Sde Eliyahu.

The facility is being constructed with the planning and consulting of INNOVESA, an American company specializing in such installations. Additionally, Professor Yonathan Zohar, a pioneer of the National Institute for Marine Agriculture in Eilat and co-founder of the Center for Marine Biotechnology at the University of Maryland in the USA, which he directed for 14 years, is part of the planning team. Professor Zohar is currently the head of the Department of Marine Biology and director of the Aquaculture Research Center at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology at the University of Maryland and leads national R&D programs of the U.S. government for land-based fish farming in general and salmon in particular.

The project involves biological and economic questions that require careful examination and identification of existing knowledge in this new and developing field worldwide.