Icelandic salmon farmer granted a further 10,000 tonnes
Iceland-based salmon company Arnarlax has been given the go-ahead to farm an additional 10,000 tonnes of fish in the Westfjords region.
Arnarlax is a wholly owned subsidiary owner of Icelandic Salmon which in turn is a dual listed company on the Oslo Euronext and the Nasdaq First North in Iceland. majority owned by Norway’s SalMar group.
The news will be a big boost for what is now Iceland’s largest open pen salmon company.
Arnarlax said in a Stock Exchange announcement that the permission was granted by the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Directorate (MAST) and the Icelandic Environmental Directorate.
The permit is for 10,000 tonnes of maximum permitted biomass of sterile salmon, at three new locations around Isafjord.
The company has described the decision as a new milestone for the business.
CEO Bjørn Hembre said: “We are glad that finally this process has reached its finish line. We are excited about this increase in our licence portfolio of 43%, and the opportunities this gives us for further sustainable growth.”
With this new 10,000-tonnes license, Arnarlax will have a total licence capacity of 33,700 tonnes, divided into 23,700 tonnes of fertile salmon in Arnarfjörður, Patreks and Tálknafjörður, and 10,000 tonnes of sterile salmon in Ísafjörður.
CEO Hembre added: “ The last outstanding application for Arnarlax is now a 4,500 tonnes MAB [maximum allowed biomass] licence in Arnarfjörður, which we expect to be handled according to the new legislation.”
