Cod farming industry groups to merge

Two organisations representing Norway’s growing cod farming sector have agreed to merge to give it a stronger voice.

The Cod Network, which is the national group for cod farming, and the Cod Cluster are joining forces to create an organisation of more than 100 member companies.

“The merger means that we are now a large cluster of around 100 member companies,” said Cod Cluster chairman Ørjan Nergaard.

“Cod farming has always been part of our focus area, so it’s nice that we are now under the same umbrella again.” 

Since the start of the cluster work in 2014, what is now the Association Cod Cluster has been developing rapidly.

Cod farming, which has been part of its since 2021, has, however, become an establishment slightly to the side in a separate network, the national network for Cod farming (Cod Network).

Rune Eriksen, steering group leader for the Cod Network (Torskenettverket) said: “The cod network has grown into a solid network with the entire value chain represented in the membership.

“But corporate networks have a time-limited funding period, and when it was over it was natural for us to look towards Cod Cluster for our further investment.”

The Cod Cluster said it aims to contribute to more year-round industrial jobs and to the sustainable coastal community, but in order to achieve this goal, the entire value chain had to be involved. Live delivery and storage, increased processing in Norway, increased value creation of residual raw material, cod farming and market development will continue to be the working areas of the cluster.

“We work to ensure that wild fish and farming will stand together as a strong whitefish industry and thus complement each other in the work that is done locally and out in the market” Ørjan Nergaard and Rune Eriksen jointly agreed.