Posts by Vince McDonagh
Atlantic Sapphire raises a further £27m for Florida site
Florida-based land salmon company Atlantic Sapphire raised around NOK 369m (£27.5m) in a new share issue in Oslo, where the company is listed, last night. The issue at NOK 1.20 per share was fully subscribed with its largest shareholder Nordlaks Holdings of Norway buying shares worth NOK 52m (£3.8m). The extra money will be used…
Read MoreUK supermarkets join price fixing action against salmon giants
A number of British supermarkets are suing Norway’s main salmon companies following a European Union investigation into price fixing. This latest development was disclosed yesterday by the Lerøy Seafood Group, one of the companies facing action. Lerøy said in its Q4 report that the supermarkets issued claims for damages in the UK earlier this month against several Norwegian…
Read MoreLerøy hit by new fish escape
Up to 5,000 mature salmon are feared to have escaped from a Lerøy facility in central Norway in the past few days. Lerøy Midt says it has informed the authorities of the incident, which is thought to have taken place on Tuesday of this week. Harald Larsen, general manager of Lerøy Midt, said the company has quickly…
Read MoreLerøy in positive mood despite a challenging year
Despite a number of biological challenges, the Lerøy Seafood group delivered better than expected 2023 fourth quarter results, with only a slight dip in profitability. Although lower than a year earlier, the group, which is part owner of Scottish Sea Farms, produced an operational EBIT (operating profit) for Q4, before biomass adjustments, of NOK 765m…
Read MoreMowi criticised over Norwegian salmon mortality
Mowi is being taken to task by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority over the high number of salmon deaths in central Norway. According to the national broadcaster NRK, around 180,000 fish weighing an average of three kilos died at a single site in just a month (January this year), so the Authority has called on…
Read MoreIcelandic investors snap up Optimar
High-tech aquaculture and processing business Optimar International has been acquired by Icelandic investment company Kaldbakur ehf. Kaldbakur has completed the purchase of all shares in the company from the previous owner, German investment firm Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH, for an undisclosed sum. Based in Ålesund, Norway, and with offices in Norway, Spain, Romania, and…
Read MoreISA suspected at Lerøy site
Infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) is suspected at a Lerøy Seafood site at Frøya in Norway’s Trondelag region. Lerøy Midt AS informed the Norwegian Food Safety Authority of its concerns last week, based on the results of PCR analysis carried out after samples were taken at the site. The operation there had already been closed due to bacterial…
Read MoreCod farmer acquires salmon harvesting site
Norwegian cod farmer Ode has taken over a harvesting facility formerly owned by the salmon group Måsøval. Ode confirmed at the weekend that it had acquired the Western Seaproducts facility in Vartdal near Ålesund, on the west coast of Norway. The plant will become a fully owned subsidiary and will be operated as a specialised…
Read MoreFirst harvest at Proximar’s Mount Fuji site now only months away
Proximar Seafood said today that the first commercial harvest for its land-based salmon farm in Japan will take place in “high summer”, in the third quarter of this year. In a trading update for the fourth quarter of 2023, Chief Executive Joachim Nielsen said the site, at Oyama in the foothills of Mount Fuji, is…
Read MoreApplecross and wellboats leading Bakkafrost Scotland fightback
Increased treatment capacity and investment in the Applecross hatchery are enabling Bakkafrost to address fish health issues in its Scottish operations, the company has reported. “Dual treatment” – tackling sea lice and gill health issues at the same time in wellboats like the Ronja Star, pictured – is helping to improve fish gill health while…
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