The three strains we are operating all have their origins from some of Norway’s most prominent salmon rivers
Our in-house family breeding program in Norway, known as SalmoBreed, provides the genetically improved Atlantic salmon material that has undergone continuous and systematic developments for more than 40 years. The strains originated from the Bolaks- and the Jakta strains constructed by wild salmon collected from rivers producing large animals with high growth potential. Every year 500 new families are born, of which the top 300 are used for breeding.
Today the SalmoBreed strain is recognized for rapid growth, late sexual maturity, resistance to disease and parasites, and outstanding flesh quality. Since 2019, the strain has been produced at our land-based facility SalmoBreed Salten. By manipulating the photoperiods, we can continuously produce and deliver ova to the Norwegian market throughout the year.
Our license producers AS Bolaks and Salten Stamfisk AS, and our partners Lerøy Seafood Group ASA and Kvarøy Fiskeoppdrett AS all produce broodstock of the SalmoBreed strain.
The Icelandic family breeding program was established in the early 1980” based on an imported Atlantic salmon population from Norway. The strain has been kept in land-based and biosecure facilities since its arrival. It has continuously been selected for farming conditions both for production in the sea and on land.
The family program produces 300 new families every year, of which the top 200 are selected for breeding. The StofnFiskur strain is recognized for the highest biosecurity levels in the industry, robustness, fast growth and outstanding flesh quality. Farming on land in closed systems makes it possible to manipulate the natural spawning season, thereby securing eggs’ deliveries to the world market every week of the year.
Today, the strain is the number one choice of fast-growing land-based farming industry worldwide.
The SagaChile strain is the most recent inclusion to the Benchmark Genetics Atlantic Salmon programs. Originating from Norwegian wild salmon in the 1970′ and bred at Benchmark’s biosecure units in Iceland, the strain first arrived in Chile in 2017. Since then the SagaChile breeders have been developed to adapt and thrive in the specific local farming conditions and environment, and meet the health challenges present in the Chilean salmon industry.
Recent benchmarking trials conducted by SagaChile and other local strains have shown very competitive performances for our strain on essential production traits. These encouraging results mark an excellent starting point and set the benchmark for further development of the strain.
