Cape Town - Soon-to-be-listed Premier Fishing South Africa has installed the first solar-energy initiative in the abalone aquaculture space in the country as the company looks to expand its plant in the Western Cape.
The company said it completed the solar energy investment on its Atlantic Abalone farm in Gansbaai to double abalone imports to overseas markets and to create more job opportunities.
Chief executive Samir Saban said the Solar PV (photovoltaic) system would use light from the sun or solar irradiation to generate electricity offsetting the Eskom electricity supply to the farm.
Saban said the first phase of the project, which was commissioned in November 2015, provided 417 000 Watts of solar energy and five of the 25kWp (kilowatt power) inverters.
He said the abalone farm was the first solar plant in the country in the abalone aquaculture space.
“The abalone operation currently employs more than 100 people and with the further expansion of our existing operation we expect to employ more than 300 people one the expansion is completed,” Saban said. “The planned expansion, once completed, will also have alternative energy [solar] installed to support the additional energy required and will place less pressure on the electricity grid, which will be enough to benefit the community of Gansbaai as well as the national grid.”
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Premier Fishing is a member of the JSE-listed Equity Empowerment Investments Limited (AEEI), a diversified operations investment company and a member of the Sekunjalo group of companies.
It plans to list as a separate entity on the JSE next month.
Saban said the company employed people from the local community of Gansbaai and Hout Bay for its processing plants.
“We also support small-scale subsistence fishermen and run a Corporate Social Investment (CSI) programme to develop communities.”
He said once the expansion was completed, the farm would be able to produce up to 320 tons of abalone over the next three years.
Saban added the company would also uplift its staff by providing the necessary training needed, giving an example of a staff member who completed training to be a captain after being a greaser on vessel.
“Today he is fully qualified as a maritime captain,” he said.Khalid Abdulla, chief executive of AEEI, said the investment, which amounted to millions of rand, would benefit all stakeholders by saving energy as well as protecting South Africa’s natural resources.
Abdulla said the planned expansion was expected to commence this month. He said the abalone operation was well on its way to self-sufficiency as Premier Fishing would increase the supply of its sought-after abalone product to its overseas client base.
Atlantic Abalone currently exports 100 tons a year to the main markets in the Far East including China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, generating an annual revenue of R50 million.