Arctic Fish gets green light to grow
Icelandic producer granted an extra 5,200 tonnes of salmon MAB in combined expansion and trout licence trade-in
Iceland salmon producer Arctic Sea Farm, a subsidiary of Arctic Fish, has received a licence for a maximum allowed biomass (MAB) of 8,000 tonnes in Isafjardardjup, it said today.
The MAB comprises 5,200 tonnes for Atlantic salmon and 2,800 tonnes for trout. The licence replaces an existing licence held for 5,300 tonnes of trout.
The total MAB capacity for Arctic Fish, which operates in the Westfjords, is now 29,800 tonnes, of which 27,000 tonnes are for salmon with licences located in five different farming areas.
Owned by Mowi
Arctic Fish is majority-owned by Mowi, which bought a 51.28% stake from fellow Norwegian salmon farmer SalMar. That deal was the result of a ruling by the European Commission to approve SalMar’s purchase of a controlling interest in salmon and shipping company NTS ASA and a related merger between SalMar and Norway Royal Salmon (NRS), which was majority-owned by NTS.
In connection with the approval, SalMar agreed to sell NRS’s controlling stake in Arctic Fish.
Arctic Fish harvested 2,529 gutted weight tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2023, and 11,878 gwt for the full year, a 39% increase on the 8,561 gwt harvested in 2022. Estimated harvest volume for 2024 is 10,100 gwt. Operating profit in 2023 was €14.5 million, up from €3.4m in 2022.
