From left: Stefan Holmager Larsen (editor at FiskerBladet and Maritime Direct), Gustav Erik Blaalid (publisher and owner of Oceanspace Media), Freddy Rasmussen (managing director at FL Marketing), Mathias Rasmussen (deputy managing director at FL Marketing), Michael Neergaard ( sales manager in FL Marketing) and Christian Lawley (general manager of the Norwegian media in Oceanspace Media AS) atFiskerBladet's stand at the DanFish2023 trade show.

Fish Farming Expert owner nets Danish titles

Oceanspace Media buys fishing and shipping publisher as it expands in Nordics

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Oceanspace Media, which owns Fish Farming Expert, is expanding its portfolio with the Danish publications FiskerBladet (Fishing Magazine) and Maritime Direct, and at the same time acquiring a new marketing area.

“This is part of developing Oceanspace Media into a Nordic media house with a continued focus on the maritime and marine cluster,” said publisher and owner Gustav Erik Blaalid.

Oceanspace Media, with headquarters in Bergen, is already an international media house with operations in Chile and Scotland. The acquisition in Denmark is the first in the Nordic region outside of Norway. According to Blaalid, the company’s strategy is to become a leading media player within the maritime sector, fisheries and aquaculture, not only in Norway, but also in the Nordics.

Cooperation

Oceanspace Media Danmark will continue its commercial collaboration with the seller of the business, FL Marketing.

“FiskerBladet and Maritime Direct are businesses that have been in the market since 1955,” said FL Marketing managing director Freddy Rasmussen.

FL Marketing bought Maritime Direct and FiskerBladet just over a year ago, but quickly concluded that media was not its core area, even though many of FL’s customers are media companies.

“It’s therefore nice that a professional media player takes over the ownership, and that we can continue the commercial collaboration,” said Rasmussen.

Oceanspace Media

,In the portfolio of Oceanspace Media there are currently seven magazines and nine websites. With the purchase in Denmark there will be another two magazines and two websites. All publications are within the maritime sector, aquaculture, and fisheries.

Here is the full list:

  • In Norwegian: Norsk Fiskeopdrett magazine, kyst.no, LandbasedAQ magazine, landbasedaq.no, Skipsrevyen magazine, skipsrevyen.no and Kystmagasinet, kystmagasinet.no, as well as kyst24Jobb.no and kyst24.no
  • In Spanish, in Chile: SalmonExpert magazine, salmonexpert.cl and AgendaMarìtima magazine and agendamaritima.cl.
  • In English, in Scotland: Fish Farming Expert magazine and fishfarmingexpert.com
  • In Danish: Maritime Direct magazine, maritime.direct and FiskerBladet, fiskerbladet.dk

An exciting time

The editor of Maritime Direct and FiskerBladet, Stefan Holmager Larsen, said: “It will be exciting to see what we can achieve in the future. I have had an excellent collaboration with FL Marketing and look forward to continuing this collaboration with the new owner.” Larsen has worked as an editor in the business for the past two years.

FiskerBladet was established in Denmark in 1955, and the forerunner of Maritime Direct was born a few years later. In 2022, the business was sold to FL Marketing. Both FiskerBladet and Maritime Direct each publish six issues per year (digital and paper), in addition to daily news on the respective web pages.

For FiskerBladet, the editorial focus is Danish fisheries, fishing vessels, the supplier industry and people who work within the fisheries sector. In Maritime Direct, the focus is on the maritime sector with logistics, transport, shipping, shipyards, and the supplier industry.