First harvest imminent for Andfjord Salmon

Land-based fish farmer Andfjord Salmon saw its losses double during the final quarter of 2022, but the company is now gearing up for its first harvest.

The company reported a loss for Q4 of last year of NOK 21.1m (£1.6m) compared with NOK 9.4 million (£720,000) in Q4 2021.

The company’s main facility is located at Kvalnes, on the island of Andøya in the Arctic archipelago of Vesterålen. It has yet to complete its first harvest but it is expected this will take place within the next three to four months.

Andfjord Salmon says it has developed an innovative and sustainable aquaculture concept for farming Atlantic salmon on land, based on a flow-through technology solution.

The company’s ambition is “to build the world’s most sustainable and fish-friendly aquaculture facility of its kind,” the Q4 report adds.

CEO Martin Rasmussen said the operation is showing strong growth and high survival rate due to good biological pool conditions. The average weight of the salmon now [as at 15 March] stands at 2,203 grams from 1,441 grams at the end of 2022.

He added: “We are very pleased with the growth rate during the dark season, when the water is also colder.

At year end, the growth was approximately 40 percent ahead of our original estimate, which was based on expected seawater temperature and Skretting’s growth table for salmon. I am also pleased that our feed conversion ratio remains good.”

The salmon’s survival rate remains high and as of 15 March 2023, it was at 98.1%.

A welfare documentation report, written by scientists at the Norwegian food research institute Nofima, concluded that “overall, the welfare of fish in the system for the first six months of the documentation project has been good in relation to , for example, the Laksvel scoring scheme for input and outcome-based indicators for salmon”.

“To receive this independent third-party verification from a renowned research institute is highly valuable for Andfjord Salmon”, Rasmussen said.

The company’s cash balance stood at NOK 82.9m (£6.3m) at the end of 2022.

Martin Rasmussen, CEO of Andfjord Salmon