Southwest fish farm fights the currents

Pure Salmon won’t be purely salmon, but the proposed aquaculture farm in Southwest Virginia still plans to raise fish by late 2028 or early 2029, company officials told local leaders.

Karim Ghannam, co-founder and chief investment officer of Singapore-based private equity firm 8F Asset Management, which backs the project, told the Russell County Board of Supervisors during an April 7 meeting that the farm will raise steelhead trout instead of Atlantic salmon. Ghannam, who spoke to supervisors through a video link, cited high costs as a reason for the switch, saying the change was “mainly driven by inflation and construction pricing in the U.S.” Steelhead are similar to salmon in appearance and flavor and are cheaper to raise, company officials said. That’s because the facility won’t have to process saltwater, Pure Salmon spokesperson Lala Korall explains.

The menu change is the latest chapter in a project that will occupy 200 acres straddling Russell and Tazewell counties and could bring more than 200 jobs to a region charting a post-coal mining economic future, company officials have said.

Since being proposed in 2013 following a trip by Del. Will Morefield, R-Tazewell, to Israel, the fish farm has faced delays due to ownership changes, terrain challenges, sinkholes and rising costs. Local leaders initially expected fish to be produced by 2025, then by 2028. Some site preparation has occurred, and construction — which will start with the laying of 20 miles of underground pipes — should start later this year, with the first fish coming 3 1/2 years later, Pure Salmon Chief Operations Officer Paul Inskeep said.

Morefield told Russell County leaders that 8F, which took over the company from original owner AquaMaof in 2019, has spent $80 million so far on the project, and plans to spend a total of $300 million. Tazewell County will invest $4 million in water and sewer infrastructure, and Russell County recently approved $423,000 to finish an access road to the site.

Morefield remains confident the facility will be a huge economic boon to Southwest Virginia despite the delays and lengthening timeline.
“It’s a transformational project,” he says. “It will attract other industries to the region and set a precedent for other companies. … We desperately need jobs. One cornerstone project can really start a movement that will only be positive for this area. For [8F] to stay committed is very encouraging.”