Colleagues pay tribute to Pål Tangvik
COLLEAGUES in the aquaculture sector are mourning Pål Tangvik, a wellknown and popular figure in Norway and Scotland, who died of a heart attack on 28 December, aged 58.
Tangvik was Freshwater Manager for Mowi’s operations in northern Norway, but had previously spent nearly seven years as Head of Freshwater Farming with Scottish Sea Farms (SSF), tasked with overhauling the company’s freshwater production strategy, including the creation of its new state-of-the-art recirculating aquaculture system hatchery at Barcaldine.
Scottish Sea Farms’ CEO, Jim Gallagher, broke the news to colleagues and paid tribute to Tangvik and his contribution to SSF’s development.
Gallagher said: “Over those years, the quiet man with the deadpan delivery yet mischievous glint in his eye became far more than a respected colleague to many of us. He became a good and loyal friend.”
Tangvik joined SSF from Lerøy, which co-owns the Scottish business along with SalMar. He had worked in the salmon farming industry since 1989. At SSF, he oversaw the design, location and build of the new hatchery at Barcaldine; streamlined the company’s pre-existing freshwater estate in preparation for its opening; and brought together a sector-leading team that is now delivering the full smolt requirement of SSF’s 42-strong estate of marine farms.
In 2020, he announced that it was time to return to his native Norway. He said at the time: “My whole reason for coming to Scotland was to help Scottish Sea Farms bring Barcaldine Hatchery into being and see the finished facility deliver its first generation of smolts. With that now achieved, and with five young grandchildren having arrived while I have been here in Scotland, it now feels like the right time to return to Norway where I can be closer to my family, young and old, and be part of the day-today once again.”
In an interview with Kyst.no in January
2021, Tangvik said: “Working for the world’s largest salmon farmer [Mowi] I think is both exciting and challenging. What I have seen so f ar bodes well, with lots of good and knowledgeable colleagues.”
Mowi stated that Tangvik would be remembered as a very good colleague, Kyst reported.