The summer of 2022 had killed almost all of the young salmon: Normandy responds with a first hatchery in Elbeuf-sur-Andelle

In the heart of the Andelle valley, the former fish farm of Elbeuf-sur-Andelle (Seine-Maritime) became the first salmon hatchery in Normandy. It was the company AMP (Aquaponic management Project) which bought the site last year “in particular for the exceptional quality of the water of the river which irrigates it”, explains Pascal Goumain, the CEO of a group which raises its salmon in the English Channel, off the coast of Cherbourg (Manche) where the only breeding farm in the open sea in France is located.

Far from the mega fish farms of northern Europe, Pascal Goumain insists on the reasoned dimension of his activity, with breeding conditions respecting animal welfare.

Until recently, it was near Chartres (Eure-et-Loir) that the first eggs were taken care of. “But it was essential to go to the next size,” continues the fish farming specialist who found the ideal place in Seine-Maritime to create this new tool managed by Léa Limbosh, a young specialist in the field.

Salt water and suitable lighting

It is she who receives the nearly 280,000 fertilized eggs once a year and watches over their development for almost a dozen months. First, the fry are drip-fed into a series of tanks so that they grow for two months. “It’s a delicate phase. We have to make sure that they feed regularly.” Which is not obvious because salmon, unlike trout, are less conditioned to the presence of humans, even at birth.

When they measure around 2.5 cm, they are transferred through a network of pipes to the nursery where they remain until they weigh around 30 g. They then pass into larger pools, where slightly salty water and a suitable lighting system allow them to begin their transformation to be able to survive at sea. “Little by little, we see their color change from a green with a yellow reflection to a silvery blue, tending to black,” remarks Léa Limbosh.

Obviously, as operations progress, the herd decreases. At the start of the year, more than 90,000 young salmon weighing 100 g – “smolts” according to the technical term – were shipped from Elbeuf-sur-Andelle. In the future, Pascal Goumain plans to arrive at up to 200,000 specimens which will head to Géfosse-Fontenay near Isigny-sur-Mer (Calvados) where they will continue to develop before entering sea water once they reach a weight of 1 kg.

A breeding chain which makes it possible to respond to the consequences of the temperature increases observed in the English Channel. “Previously, we put 100 g salmon directly into the sea,” recalls Pascal Goumain. But that was before. Before the summer of 2022, when the water reached 20°C for several weeks, which caused the death of almost all of the young salmon. “At this stage of their life, they are more fragile, more sensitive to parasites which develop more in this warmer water.”

This episode was decisive in the creation of this hatchery, which has become the first link in a sector of salmon born, raised and processed in France which should this year reach 300 tonnes this year.