Lerøy and SalMar report large Q3 harvest increases

TWO of the biggest names in Norwegian salmon farming have reported large increases in their third-quarter harvest figures.

SalMar and Lerøy Seafood are coowners of Scottish Sea Farms, but because the Scottish company is classed as an “associate business”, output details will not be released until the full third-quarter reports are published.

Lerøy said in an Oslo stock exchange announcement that it slaughtered 56,400 tonnes of salmon and trout between July and September against 44,200 tonnes during the same period a year ago.

The harvest volume is divided by 15,700 tonnes (7,900 tonnes in Q3 2020) on Lerøy Aurora, 22,900 tonnes (22,000 tonnes) on Lerøy Midt and 17,800 tonnes (14,300 tonnes) on Lerøy Sjøtroll. Trout accounted for 8,400 tonnes, up from 7,500 tonnes.

Lerøy also owns Havfisk, one of Norway’s largest fishing fleets. Its catch volume was 12,300 tonnes, against 11,100 tonnes 12 months ago, of which 3,400 tonnes were cod.

SalMar’s third-quarter harvest also rose sharply and is forecast to total 52,100 tonnes against 37,100 tonnes in Q3 2020. Its central Norway operations produced

34,200 tonnes while its farms in the north of the country harvested 15,500 tonnes and Icelandic Salmon 2,400 tonnes.

Meanwhile, Norway Royal Salmon, which is now part of the NTS group, announced a slightly higher Q3 harvest of 11,200 tonnes, of which 8,300 tonnes came from Norway and 2,900 tonnes from Iceland.