Go ahead for Europe’s largest land based salmon farm
PLANS to build what will eventually be Europe’s largest land based salmon farm have received local authority approval.
The company, Salmon Evolution, was given the go ahead to develop a facility that is hoped will produce more than 28,000 tonnes of salmon a year.
The development site is at a place called Indre Harøy in Fræna, part of an attractive county municipality in western Norway known as Møre og Romsdal.
When fully up and running, the plant will provide more than 80 jobs. A number of former salmon company executives are behind the three billion kroner project.
They say they still have to secure the necessary funding, but claim there is a lot of interest in the project and they are currently working on plans to attract new investors. An investment prospectus should be in print by September.
The CEO of Salmon Evolution, Ingjarl Skarvøy, said he was pleased the company has obtained the concessions to go ahead.
He believes the development of land based farming will eventually become a major game changer for the Norwegian aquaculture industry. He expects the project to gather pace gradually over time.
Currently, Europe’s largest land based farm is under construction 40 miles south of Oslo, with Fredrikstad Seafoods, a subsidiary of Nordic Aquafarms, behind the development (see story opposite).