Cod farmer buys Mowi cleaner fish site

The Sighaug facility is in Vanylven, in the Møre og Romsdal county in the south-central part of Norway.

Mowi will operate the facility until for the next few weeks with the current stock of cleaner fish, before Ode takes over, in a move which also includes the employees. Ode will then convert the operation to cod fry and broodstock. 

The regional director of Mowi has thanked the employees at the facility for their efforts over many years and especially recently. 

Ode is a cod farmer with major plans ahead. Earlier this year it announced it would be increasing its investment in deep farming for cod, with the solution rolled out to two additional sites during the spring.

Ode CEO Ola Kvalheim said this week that the company will invest in what he described as an important facility for the company’s value chain for farmed cod.

He added: “Ode has a strong need for increased capacity on the land side and this fits perfectly into our portfolio with skilled and experienced employees, proximity to several of Ode’s locations and opportunities for further development and investment.

“The facility and several of the employees have previously produced smolt cod with very good results and we are confident that we can build on what Mowi has developed in recent years.”

Ode says the facility can easily be converted back to cod and is well suited for both fry and broodstock. 

Kvalheim said: “Together with Mowi, we will immediately begin the process of applying for a change of species to cod. We hope for a quick process together with the relevant authorities, so that we can return to operation without interruption in activity.”