Grieg harvested almost 85,000 tonnes of salmon last year

Norway and Canada salmon farmer Grieg Seafood harvested 84,700 gutted weight tonnes of Atlantic salmon last year, it said in a trading update today.

That volume is an increase of 9,100 gwt (12%) compared to the 75,600 gwt harvested in the same regions in 2021. Grieg harvested 89,327 gwt in 2021, but that included volume from its Shetland operations which were sold to Scottish Sea Farms in December of that year.

Grieg harvested 21,200 gwt in the fourth quarter of 2022, mostly in its Rogaland and Finnmark operating regions in Norway. Grieg harvested 12,800 gwt in Finnmark, 6,900 gwt in Rogaland, and 1,500 gwt in British Columbia, Canada.

Average regional farming costs per kg for the quarter were approximately:

• Rogaland: NOK 54.6

• Finnmark: NOK 54.1

• British Columbia: Can $13.3 (approx. NOK 98.5 at today’s exchange rate)

In its Q3 2022 report, Grieg said it expected the higher harvest cost in BC due to lower volume and the last harvest of a generation.

Using figures from Grieg’s quarterly reports, Fish Farming Expert has calculated that the company harvested 20,319 gwt of salmon in BC in 2022, an increase of 5,971 gwt (41%) over the 14,448 gwt harvested in 2021.

Grieg’s harvesting volumes vary significantly every other year in BC due to an imbalance in the number of farms and maximum allowable biomass in the different production areas on the East and West Coast of Vancouver Island.

The company’s full Q4 2022 report will be released on 16 February.