One step closer
Local planning authorities may have passed Nordlaks’s application to place one of their novel sea farms in Vesterålen, but they are still waiting to find out if their development licence will be approved by the government.
Kyst learned that the planning authorities in Hadsel had approved the application to site a farm outside Ongstadneset before even Inge Berg, the CEO of Nordlaks and was able to break the news to him.
“There was very little controversy about placing the seafarm in this location, so we had great faith that we would receive the approval,” he explains.
Berg said the site was chosen for several reasons.
“It's very exposed, but a great place for our design, which is the only one that can cope with wave heights of 8-9m. Therefore, we believe it is a good utilization of sea area, not to mention a good distance from other farm sites, as well as being close to the local processing plant,” he says.
Waiting anxiously
Of the 27 development licence applications to date, only two companies have so far had replies from the Directorate of Fisheries – Salmar offshore ocean netpens were granted approval and construction of cages has started in China. Måsøval Fiskeoppdrett, however, received rejection of their application, and have appealed the decision.
“We fully understand that this is a time consuming process. But we do not hide that we are very excited and looking forward to getting started,” says Berg enthusiastically.
Construction options
Berg is keen to get started, but has not yet finalised where construction of the design will take place.
“If we get an approval, we will produce more detailed descriptions of the project before we look for shipyards that can build the farm,” he explains.
“We have many partners we are talking to, but there are several things that need to fall into place. We primarily focus on quality. Nordlaks are looking at opportunities in China, where the price is cheaper, but we are keeping our options open,” he says.
Projected costs
Berg is concerned about the spiralling price of the project, but believes it is all in a good cause.
“Our construction is considerably larger than Salmar’s ocean netpens [which are estimated at NOK 690 million apiece], and it’s likely to be considerably more than that,” he concludes.
