Seafood Council China envoy quits for top commercial role

Andreas Thorud, (pictured) the Norwegian Seafood Council’s China envoy for the past two and a half years, is leaving the organisation to join land based fish farmer Nordic Aqua Partners.

He has been appointed managing director of Nordic’s fish farming operations in China, a country where he has worked for the past 17 years.

Nordic Aqua Partners, which is developing a large modern RAS salmon farm in China, said this background gives him considerable expertise in and a deep understanding of the Chinese business landscape, particularly in relation to the salmon market.

CEO Ragnar Joenson said: “We are pleased to welcome Andreas Thorud to the Nordic Aqua Partners team.

“He possesses a deep knowledge of the salmon market, Chinese consumer behaviour, works closely with Chinese government organisations and long-term industry trends.

“His extensive background in the Chinese seafood industry combined with his fluency in the language, Thorud will be an important asset to drive Nordic Aqua Partners’ growth and success in this dynamic and strategically important market.”

Nordic Aqua Partners’ Ningbo RAS facility

The Norwegian Seafood Council thanked Thorud for his “excellent contribution” and said it would soon begin recruiting a replacement for its office in Shanghai.

But it added that because Thorud was joining a “competing business” it would be implementing some necessary measures to protect its operations.

Among those measures, it says “Thorud’s collaboration and communication with the local Chinese value chain and Norwegian exporters during the notice period will be limited to a degree that both preserves the interests and network of the Seafood Council and simultaneously ensures the majority of planned activities moving forward are conducted.

“During the notice period, communication with the local value chain will be managed by the rest of the team in China with support from the main office in Tromsø. Furthermore, communication and collaboration with the Norwegian exporters will be handled by the main office in consultation with Thorud.”

Before joining the Seafood Council, Andreas Thorud spent a decade overseeing Aker BioMarine’s operations in China and other key Asian markets, further strengthening his reputation as an experienced industry professional.

Thorud will take over the role of CEO of Nordic Aqua Partners in China in the coming months, reporting directly to CEO Joensen.

He will also work closely with the rest of the team to develop the salmon production site in Ningbo, China, along with focusing on promoting Nordic Aqua’s ambitious growth plans, with a specific goal of reaching 20,000 tonnes and exploring opportunities to expand to 50,000 tonnes, said Joenson.