The bacterium Francisella noatunensis has been detected in individual fish from one of four cages at Norcod's Pålskjæra location.

Notifiable bacteria detected at Norwegian cod farm

The bacteria have been found in individual fish at Norcod's site in the Mausund area. The company does not expect the detection to affect operations or harvest volume.

Therese Soltveit Journalist
Published

Francisella noatunensis was discovered through sampling in connection with planned harvesting, Norcod stated in a stock exchange announcement this morning.

Norcod has the sites Pålskjæra and Skogsøya in the Mausund area. The notifiable bacterium Francisella noatunensis has been detected in individual fish from one cage at one of the sites.

The detection concerns the Pålskjæra location in the Mausund area, chief Norcod executive Christian Riber confirmed to Fish Farming Expert's Norwegian sister site, Kyst.no.

The site consists of four pens. The bacteria have been detected in individual fish from one of the cages, which is currently being harvested.

"We have good control of the situation and are following our established
procedures. Our experienced farming teams are well trained to manage
situations such as this," said Riber in the stock exchange announcement.

The company has not recorded any significant increase in mortality among the fish being harvested. Based on the current situation, Norcod does not expect any noticeable impact on operations, harvesting volumes, or planned growth.

First detection

Francisella noatunensis is a notifiable bacterium in cod and causes francisellosis. According to the company, the disease has previously been found mainly at fish farms further south. This is the first time the bacterium has been detected at a Norcod facility.

There is currently no vaccine or medical treatment for francisellosis.

Norcod is handling the situation in line with established procedures and regulatory requirements. The location will be closely monitored throughout the remainder of the harvest period, and the harvest of the cage in question is scheduled to be completed within two weeks.

"The fish at Mausund are already being harvested as planned and, based on what we are seeing today, we do not expect this to have any notable impact on mortality, our operations or projected growth plans," said Riber.

Building volume

Norcod recently announced in its second quarter report that it has moved to continuous harvesting with higher volumes. At the end of the quarter, the cod farmer had 5,390 tonnes of biomass at sea, an increase of 31% over the period.

The company is sticking to its goal of harvesting between 13,000 and 15,000 tonnes of cod in 2027.

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