THE now-you-see-it-now-you don't hamlet of Gansbaai near Hermanus on the Cape east coast is now able to proclaim: "And now for something completely different" following the setting up of South Africa's first farm to produce Norwegian salmon. Expensive in this country as all of it is imported, the Atlantic salmon comes fresh or smoked. It has a high content of the Omega-3 fatty acids and is said to be particularly beneficial to health which explains its popularity. The proposed Gansbaai project has been approved by the parliamentary Portfolio Committee for Environment and Tourism and welcomed by the local community - and of course salmon devotees. According to Theo Ratte of Nordic Salmon Salar Farming (NSSSF), a large quantity of vaccinated salmon eggs will be imported from Norway to produce the annual 200 tons of fish allowed according to regulations. The eggs will go to a hatchery for six or nine months until the fish reach a small stage and will then be placed in floating net cages of about 19 metres in diameter and 15 metres in depth where they will remain for nine to 12 months till harvesting.The fish will be sold mainly on the local market but the possibility of exporting is not being excluded.
