Mega salmon farm coming to Litchfield
Pontiac to welcome innovative salmon farming facility
Tashi Farmilo
A salmon farm is slated for the Pontiac Industrial Park in Litchfield. Samonix will be a large facility with three main buildings to be constructed on an existing industrial site along the Ottawa River. The company hopes to become the largest producer of Atlantic salmon in land-based aquaculture facilities in Eastern Canada, providing high quality products to local and international markets.
“This is an Outaouais company, 51% will always be owned by someone in Quebec or the Outaouais. However, we are bringing in partners to help with the expertise,” said Rémi Bertrand, Senior Director of Development at Samonix. The company has partnered with Smart Salmon, a Norwegian company, for their expertise in raising salmon as well as Smögenlax, a Swedish company, who specialize in the planned water treatment system. Samonix has also partnered with Aquamaof, an Israeli company specializing in the technology needed for the operation.
Samonix aims to use innovative technology to facilitate farming salmon in large pools inside the facility as opposed to in natural bodies of water. A Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) will recirculate the water using advanced filtration and water treatment systems. The process allows for complete control of the elements, ensuring water quality is free of contaminants or bacteria. The RAS system will allow 99% of the water to be reused and recirculated.
“Our mission is to provide salmon in an eco-responsible and sustainable way,” said Bertrand, noting that the salmon will be raised without antibiotics, pesticides, hormones or microplastics. “We hope to support the local economy and employment - we are talking about 100 new jobs for the area.”
In terms of sustainability, Samonix plans to use biomethanation for their rejected organic matter, which is a process that turns the organic matter into biogas or manure. Bertrand highlights that they have been transparent with regional stakeholders, namely Ottawa Riverkeeper.
“We had a chance to have a discussion with Samonix [about the project] and we’re hopeful that discussions will continue.” said Larissa Holman, Director of Science and Policy with Ottawa Riverkeeper, adding that their biggest concern is chloride levels in the water discharge going into the river. “We would really like to see the chloride concentration come in at a lower threshold so that it doesn't have an impact on aquatic organisms.” The recommendation is based on the Canadian Water Quality Guidelines.
Currently, Samonix is in the process of obtaining permits from the Ministry of Environment. “We are not asking for any special consideration. We will operate within the parameters that are given to us,” said Bertrand. Their energy requests have been submitted to Hydro Quebec. If everything goes according to plan, construction will start in the spring of 2026 and will take approximately a year to complete. The construction will include a water treatment facility and a 13-acre main building enabling Samonix to farm approximately 12,000 metric tons of salmon annually. To accommodate all buildings, the construction necessitates between 80 to 100 acres of land.
Photo caption: The type of pool that will be used by Samonix to farm salmon at their planned Litchfield facility.
Photo credit: Samonix
