Newfoundland fish die-off costs Mowi €5 million
The die-off of 5,000 tonnes of salmon at Mowi-owned farms in Newfoundland has cost the company €5 million in one-off costs.
Mowi revealed the figure in a market announcement yesterday, in which it confirmed that 10 of its 47 licences in Newfoundland have been temporarily suspended by the province’s fisheries department in the wake of the deaths of 2.6 million fish on the Coast of Bays, .
“Mortalities were caused by prolonged high seawater temperatures that created low oxygen conditions. All licences suspended are related to sites experiencing these mortalities. The suspension will to our knowledge not impact our remaining operations in Newfoundland,” stated Mowi.
1,000-tonne harvest reduction
“The fish mortalities were insured. Net one-off costs to be recognised in Mowi Canada in the third quarter amounts to approximately €5 million. The impact on Mowi’s harvest volumes for 2019 is expected to be a reduction of approximately 1,000 tonnes gutted weight tonnes.”
Mowi Canada holds 59 licences in Canada East, of which 47 are in Newfoundland and 12 in New Brunswick.
The statement made no reference to a demand made on Friday by Newfoundland and Labrador fisheries minister Gerry Byrne that the “international president of Mowi”, taken to be a reference to chief executive Alf-Helge Aarskog, should make himself available as soon as possible for an in-person meeting with the NL government.
