How Mowi made its millions
Aslak Berge’s book recounts the creation of a salmon superpower.
Journalist Aslak Berge takes on nothing less than the story of the world’s biggest salmon empire, in his book Goldfinger: The History of Mowi.
He begins with a farewell dinner – a meal at a sushi restaurant hosted by Ole-Eirik Lerøy, who had just sold his family’s business, Lerøy, after a hostile takeover masterminded by minority shareholder Austevoll Seafood.
Lerøy’s inner circle – trusted executive directors from the firm – heard him voice an audacious proposal: “I think we should take over Marine Harvest and bring it back to Bergen.”
Marine Harvest was three times the size of the Lerøy seafood business, but the deal happened. And one of the guests that night, Ivan Vindheim, is now CEO of Mowi – as Marine Harvest is now called.
This scene is the springboard for a detailed and well-researched examination of where Mowi came from and where it is going.
Berge goes back to the origins of fish farming in 1950s Norway, starting with trout and salmon in ponds but soon moving to seawater, where the fish grew faster. The success of the brothers, Olav and Karstein Vik, attracted the attention of experts in other countries, including the UK. That lead to British industrial conglomerate Unilever taking an interest. The Vik brothers helped to set up Unilever’s experimental fish farm at Lochailort, in Scotland.
Meanwhile in Norway, the industry was also gathering momentum. “Mowi” takes its name from Johan Ernst Mowinckel, who was the majority shareholder in Johan Laerum & Co, a company better known for its jam and marmalade rather than seafood. Mowinckel started fish farming as a hobby but it was to become a thriving business, especially when Norway’s energy giant Norsk Hydro stepped in to provide capital.
Berge traces the parallel stories of Lerøy, Mowi and Marine Harvest, through fish health crises, the row over Norwegian “dumping” of cheap salmon and the bumpy processes that led to so much consolidation in the industry.
There is a major focus on the role of John Frederiksen in the corporate battles with Nutreco and Stolt-Nielsen over the fate of Marine Harvest.
Berge takes the story right up-to-date through the takeover of Marine Harvest and its rebranding as the “premium brand” Mowi – which was actually opposed by some members of the Mowinckel family who no longer wanted to be associated with salmon farming.
He also looks at the impact of more recent challenges, such as Covid and the new “salmon tax” introduced by Norway’s government.
Addressing the “road forward”, Berge asks – does the global salmon industry really face the prospect of zero growth? Have we reached “peak fish” as some have predicted?
Berge weighs up the relative merits of salmon farming on land – where “no one had made money” – moving further offshore in rigs or specialised vessels – or in semi-closed or closed cages inshore.
There are some interesting insights from Mowi’s Ivan Vindheim, who sees land farming as a long-term prospect, but feels Norway’s current government and tax regime are stifling innovation to the extent that it is more likely to happen elsewhere.
Berge has been able to get direct access to many of the key players in this story and there is no doubt that this is an insider’s account, with some fascinating details. This book provides in-depth insights into how the salmon business got to where it is today. If there is one criticism, it is that a story so dense with detail could really do with an index.
Goldfinger: The History of Mowi, by Aslak Berge. Publ Octavian Forlag £33.55.
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