In Canada as well as in the other aquaculture countries, there have been both research and projects to see whether aquaculture of Atlantic salmon can be done in closed containment. So far, there have not been projects that have successfully shown that aquaculture of Atlantic salmon can be done profitably in closed containment. I know that such research has been done in Norway, as well as in Canada and in Scotland.
Also, we in the department have done a financial study, because one of the elements that is particularly important is whether it is possible from a financial point of view to go into closed containment, apart from all of the other issues that are not addressed yet and that would prevent growing Atlantic salmon to a commercial size. The study that we have done goes back a couple of years. It was done at a time when Atlantic salmon prices on the market were very high, and even at that time, our studies showed that it would not be financially sustainable to do closed containment aquaculture. In a situation like today, when prices are very low, there would be even less of a possibility to do that.
But the research continues. There are a number of scientific aspects related to closed containment for which there are no solutions yet—maybe Jay can speak to this—that really prevent industry from moving in that direction. As I said at the beginning, we use closed-containment measures in our hatcheries to raise smolts, but as you want to grow a fish to a heavier weight—maybe a kilogram—it becomes more complicated.