RASTECH25 keynote: Big or small? The road to profilability
Success in RAS can come in all shapes and sizes. At RASTECH 2025 (June 9-10 in San Diego, Calif., USA), our keynote panel explores how their farms forged their own path of profitability, and on their own terms.Our panelists:Thorsten Vammen is the general manager of FREA Solutions, based in Denmark. FREA AS is fully recirculated facility raising rainbow trout in Felding, Denmark. Located just a few metres from FREA Solutions’ headquarters, the facility has been operating since 2014, producing over 2,800 tonnes of fish annually across two 4,000 m² buildings.Sara Rademaker is the founder and CEO of American Unagi, a glass eel recirculating hashtag#aquaculture farm in Waldoboro, Maine. American Unagi is the first and only producer and processor in the U.S. of locally sourced and harvested American glass eel. The large-scale farm was built in 2023 to produce 240 tonnes annually and plans to double its capacity within the year.Yosuke Kurihara is the co-founder and CEO of ARK Inc. based in London, U.K. and Tokyo, Japan. Established in 2020, the company developed a small-scale, 10-square-metre Closed Recirculating Aquaculture System (CRAS) known as "ARK" that supports off-the-grid aquaculture with solar power generation and a solar hot water supply. There are currently six units installed and in operation in cities across Japan.
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Rethinking fish waste in RAS with Trevor Gent of Alumichem
Trevor Gent, director of Engineered Solutions at Alumichem, delves into the critical role of wastewater treatment in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). As a "fish poop expert," he emphasizes the importance of early planning and integration of waste management systems. He discusses various treatment options, highlighting the need for regulatory compliance and market development.
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Growing with smolt RAS with Bendik Fyhn Terjesen at Cermaq Global
Bendik Fyhn Terjesen is the head of Land-Based Innovation and Development at Cermaq Global. He shares how one of the largest traditional salmon net pen companies became a pioneer of recirculating aquaculture technology. He provides insight on how Cermaq has grown its smolt RAS production over the years and where the company's hopes lie for future expansion.
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Expect the unexpected in RAS with Kim Hieronymus Lyhne of Danish Salmon
Danish Salmon, founded in 2009, is one of the oldest RAS companies for Atlantic salmon. The company in Hirtshals, Denmark faced numerous challenges, including system failures and inefficiencies. CEO Kim Hieronymus Lyhne shares lessons from the company's financial turnaround, reporting profits for the first time in 2024 with its annual capacity of 2,300 tons.
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Simple and buildable RAS projects with John Hansen at Hansen International Business Consulting
John Hansen, a project director in the RAS industry, discussed his experience and responsibilities, including managing design and construction for land-based fish farms. He emphasized the importance of early involvement in projects to ensure constructability and avoid costly changes. He also stressed the need for simplicity in design to keep costs and timelines manageable.
RAS Talk is a podcast about Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) and land-based aquaculture. RAS Talk is hosted by Jean Ko Din, editor of RASTECH magazine, and Justin Henry, RAS consultant & expert. Each episode welcomes a new guest to discuss sustainable seafood production, technology developments and innovative ideas relevant to this rapidly expanding segment of the aquaculture industry.
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