Grieg Seafood ASA

The move makes Grieg Seafood the first global salmon producer to invest in land-based salmon farming.

The joint venture Årdal Aqua will produce at least 3 000 tonnes of post-smolt annually and grow fish all the way to harvest size in a new land-based facility in Rogaland in Southern Norway. Grieg Seafood owns one third of the company.

“We are working hard to improve biology and fish welfare, and to reduce our impact. For a long time, we have invested in post-smolt, where we keep the fish longer on land before we release it into the sea, as an important part of the solution. With Årdal Aqua we will be able to develop this farming method further. We aim for all of our fish in Rogaland to spend less than one year in the sea,” says Andreas Kvame, CEO of Grieg Seafood and Chair of Årdal Aqua.

Land-based production to complement ocean farming

The project is currently in the design development phase, and the company aims to start construction during the autumn of 2021. The facility will be built in Årdal in Rogaland, and has a production capacity of 5 000 tonnes annually according to current plans. The company aims to increase the production capacity further.

With the current plans, the Årdal Aqua will create 25 local jobs in Rogaland.

The company will deliver at least 3 000 tonnes of post-smolt annually to Grieg Seafood’s sea farms in Rogaland. In addition, the company aims to gradually produce fish to harvest size on land.

“Through our post-smolt investments we acquire competence on how to produce larger fish on land. Based on this knowledge, Årdal Aqua will also grow fish all the way to harvest size. We will take a step-by-step approach, as we know how complex biology is,” Kvame continues.

He is convinced that different farming technologies and methods will complement each other in the future.

“With continuous improvements that reduce the impact from our sea farms, something we work a lot on, farming in the seas will still be the main component of the industry going forward. Land-based farming is, however, a great supplement, and we look forward to taking part in the development of this technology. What we know for sure is that the world will need a lot more healthy and nutritious food with the lowest possible impact,” says Kvame.

Årdal Aqua is owned one third by Grieg Seafood, one third by the smolt and post-smolt company Vest Havbruk and one third by the Stavanger-based investor group Omfar.

The company will release information about the investment cost when the design development phase is completed. It estimates an investment cost of 120 NOK/kg.

About Grieg Seafood’s post-smolt strategy

• To reduce the time that the fish spends in open net pens in the sea is central to Grieg Seafood’s efforts to reduce our impact, improve fish welfare and increase biological control.
• Grieg Seafood is piloting our post-smolt strategy in Rogaland with post-smolt production at the fresh water facility Trosnavåg and the post-smolt joint venture Tytlandsvik Aqua.
• The company is also investing in post-smolt at the new fresh water facility under construction in Gold River in British Columbia, at the new fresh water facility in Newfoundland and at the post-smolt joint venture Nordnorsk Smolt in Finnmark.
• Read more about our post-smolt strategy here: https://griegseafood.com/our-impact-post-smolt

For more information, please contact:

Kristina Furnes, Global Communications Manager
+47 48185505 / kristina.furnes@griegseafood.com

About Grieg Seafood ASA

Grieg Seafood ASA is one of the world's leading salmon farmers. We have farms in Finnmark and Rogaland in Norway, British Columbia and Newfoundland in Canada, and Shetland in the UK. Our headquarter is located in Bergen, Norway. Grieg Seafood was listed at the Oslo Stock Exchange in June 2007. More than 900 people are employed by the company globally.

Sustainable farming practices are the foundation of Grieg Seafood's operations. The lowest possible environmental impact and the best possible fish welfare drive economic profitability. Towards 2025, we aim for global growth, cost improvement and to evolve from a pure salmon supplier to an innovation partner for selected customers.

Attachments

• CEOAndreas Kvame_PhotographerTommyEllingsen
• ÅrdalAqua_ArealPhotoIllustration

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CEO Andreas Kvame. Photographer: Tommy Ellingsen

Årdal Aqua areal - photoillustration.