Norwegian councils handed £185m from permits auction
Councils in Norway’s salmon farming areas will get a total of NOK 2.25 billion (£185.4 million) this autumn as their share of the income from the government’s annual auction of extra biomass permits.
“The country’s fish farming municipalities do an important job of facilitating the fish farming industry. In 2020 and 2021, the municipalities will receive a record-breaking reward for their efforts. It is now clear how the first part of the payment will be distributed,” said fisheries and seafood minister Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen.
140 municipalities and seven county municipalities will each get a payout, distributed by the Aquaculture Fund.
Production fee
The amount paid out each year is dependent on the amount raised at the auction and can vary greatly. In 2018 the municipalities were paid NOK 2.8bn, but last year received just NOK 450m.
Norway’s Parliament, the Storting, has decided that the municipalities will receive a fixed sum for distribution this year (NOK 2.25bn) and next year (NOK 1bn).
From 2022, the municipalities will receive a reduced figure of 40% of the auction revenue, which is just half of the 80% received from 2016-19. However, the municipalities will also receive income from a production fee that will be around NOK 500 million annually.
“The municipalities will have more stable and predictable revenues. So far, it has been highly variable how much the municipalities have received. With the production fee, we are responding to a long-standing wish from the farming municipalities,” said Ingebrigtsen.
Additional revenues
The Aquaculture Fund was established in 2016, with the aim of stimulating the municipalities to facilitate the aquaculture industry.
“More aquaculture will contribute to increased food production and additional revenues for the municipalities and the state,” said Ingebrigtsen. “This will give the municipalities large revenues, at the same time as we must not forget that many of the most important welfare services in the country are financed by the state treasury. Everyone who uses welfare services in our country benefits from the fact that the Treasury also receives new income.”
Take a look at how each municipality has benefited from the biomass auction here.
