Tilapia farmer names salmon executive as chairman after $7m investment
Tilapia farmer Lake Harvest Group has appointed experienced seafood executive Atle Eide as independent chairman of the board.
Lake Harvest, headquartered in Harare, Zimbabwe, is one of the largest integrated aquaculture companies in Sub Saharan Africa, with farming operations in Zimbabwe, Zambia (Lake Hariba) and Uganda (Lake Victoria).
Chief executive James de la Fargue said: “We are very pleased and proud that Atle, who is a globally recognised leader in the aquaculture sector, is joining Lake Harvest. With his dedication, knowledge and experience, we are convinced that Atle will make a strong contribution to the future success of Lake Harvest.”
Multiple roles
Eide is a former chairman of salmon farmer SalMar, which is a co-owner of Scottish Sea Farms, and was also chief executive of Marine Harvest (now Mowi). He is current chairman of aquaculture supplier ScaleAQ, which is owned by the Witzøe family that owns SalMar, and SalMar Aker Ocean, which is developing offshore salmon farming.
The executive is also a board member for The Norwegian Seafood Federation, aquaculture biotechnology company Benchmark Holding, and industry analyst Kontali.
His appointment to Lake Harvest follows a recent US $7 million investment in the company by sustainable aquaculture investor Aqua-Spark and Norfund, the Norwegian state’s investment fund for developing countries.
Eide said: “I believe in the purpose of Lake Harvest and am strongly motivated to contribute to the development of sustainable aquaculture in Africa. I look forward to working with the Lake Harvest team, the other board members and the shareholders Aqua-Spark, Norfund and African Century Group.”
