The company behind the land-based salmon farm proposed for Litchfield announced a partnership with a Swedish aquaculture developer last week, a decision it says will allow it to access recently patented technology. 

Chelsea-based company Samonix had already been working with the company, called Smögenlax Aquaculture AB, on its salmon-farming technology called Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS). On Mar. 2, Samonix announced it had signed a letter of intent with the company that will allow it to access Smögenlax’s recently developed advancements in RAS technologies. 

“The agreement reflects a shared ambition to accelerate the deployment of innovative Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) solutions,” reads the joint press release. 

“It builds on Smögenlax’s recent technological advancements in RAS design, including proprietary and patent-pending technologies, and reinforces Samonix’s role as a long-term development partner in the Americas.” 

Samonix says its facility would raise 12,000 tonnes of Atlantic salmon annually, in land-based tanks filled with water from the Ottawa River rather than traditional ocean pens. 

The company plans to use the RAS method to treat and reuse water inside the facility. Its website says it will “almost eliminate environmental discharge” by recirculating 99 per cent of the water in the system. 

For several years, Samonix has consulted Smögenlax Aquaculture AB on the design of its RAS system. The firm operates a research and development facility in Sweden focused on aquaculture technology. 

Samonix president Mathieu Farley said Norwegian and Swedish companies account for more than half of the farmed salmon in the world, and that they wanted to consult experts in the field. 

“I realized I would need to bring some people in who have farmed salmon and who know the biology,” Farley said. 

Farley said that Smögenlax recently patented a new RAS technology that allows more than 99 per cent of water to be recirculated. This new partnership will allow Samonix to have access to that technology. 

“It enables us to have an extremely high water [quality] level and it increases recirculation,” Farley said. 

The proposed facility is slated for the Litchfield Industrial Park on the site of the old Smurfit-Stone mill, and must still pass several provincial environmental approvals before construction can begin.

Litchfield director general Julie Bertrand said the project complies with municipal zoning bylaws and does not require any zoning changes. She said the firm will be responsible for its own water and sewer networks. 

Litchfield mayor Colleen Larivière said she feels the project will be a big economic driver for the region, creating jobs and opportunities for local residents. 

“I think that any project of that magnitude, it goes without saying that it’s going to be something great for the Pontiac,” she said.  

Wastewater concerns

The project has drawn questions from local residents. During a public consultation held in Feb. 2025, some residents expressed concerns about water quality and the discharge of treated water from the facility being released into nearby waterways. 

The company said wastewater from the system – containing mostly fish waste – will first be processed through biomethanization to produce fertilizer. The remaining liquid would then be treated at a wastewater treatment plant before being discharged into the Ottawa River in accordance with environmental regulations.

“Anything that is in our facility before going into the river is entirely sterilized at a high level, so there is no question that a pathogen that was in our facility would make its way into the river,” said technical director Fred Brisco at the time. 

Farley said now with the new technology from Smögenlax, the fish plant will hopefully be able to recirculate even more water in its system. He said Samonix is adhering to all provincial regulations when it comes to the quality of water discharge, the amount of fish excrement released back into the river, and the presence of intake and discharge pipes in the river. 

With regards to the environmental concerns of the project, Larivière said she is confident the long approval process required by the province’s environment ministry will ensure the project is safe and friendly to the environment.  

“It’s taking a long time. The [Ministry of] Environment, they’re doing due diligence so that it doesn’t do harm to the river. They’re not going to approve something and it be dangerous,” she said. 

Samonix is still waiting on a Hydro-Québec power connection as well as a final permit from Quebec’s environment ministry before it can begin farming salmon. Farley said the approval process is taking a long time since this is one of the first RAS facilities of its kind in the province.

While this project is Samonix’s first attempt at a land-based salmon farm, Farley said residents of the Pontiac should be confident that the company is doing its due diligence to remain friendly to the environment.

“Quebec is probably more rigorous than anywhere in the world. The environmental approval process is a good one to ensure that things are being done properly,” he said. “I think we will have demonstrated that we will have a low environmental impact.”