Norway fish farmers splash out NOK 6bn for new permits
Norway’s annual auction of salmon and trout farming permits has earned the government nearly NOK 6 billion, twice the amount raised last year.
Thirty companies bought extra biomass allowances, with Scottish Sea Farms co-owner SalMar the biggest spender. It spent NOK 1.76bn to buy 8,057 tonnes of maximum allowable biomass (MTB).
Mowi spent NOK 300m to buy 1,758 MTB, and Grieg Seafood spent NOK 100m on an extra 527 tonnes. Japanese-owned Cermaq was one of the biggest spenders, securing an extra 1,774 tonnes for NOK 451m.
3%+ growth
The permits have been sold in production areas along the coast where the environmental situation is considered good (green under Norway’s ‘traffic light’ system) and gives a growth in the Norwegian aquaculture industry of more than 3%.
“We have now sold new salmon permits for a record high NOK 6bn, twice as much as the previous auction. This confirms that we have a forward-looking and positive industry. This is good, and important for jobs and value creation along the coast,” said fisheries and seafood minister Odd-Emil Ingebrigtsen in a press release.
Everything sold
There were 42 companies registered in the auction, and 30 companies eventually bought permits. There were 27,189 tonnes of production capacity available at the auction, and everything was sold. The total raised was NOK 5,975 (£510.6m).
“I am pleased that so many companies have bought new permits, and that there is great variation among the farmers who have won. This shows that auctions can be a good form of allocation for both small, medium and large fish farmers,” said Ingebrigtsen.
