Offshore salmon farmer loses key north Norway site approval over welfare issues

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority has decided to withdraw approval for the fish farming location known as 40217 Fellesholmen with effect from 1 January 2026.

The location is operated by Arctic Offshore Farming AS which is part of the SalMar group.

Arctic Offshore Farming was first granted a development permit almost eight years ago in 2018, under its original ownership, Norway Royal Salmon - now part of the SalMar group.

The food safety authority said the reason for the withdrawal was a significant violation of regulations related to fish welfare, animal health and biosecurity.

The construction and exposed location of the facility had made the facility inaccessible for up to three months. This meant that the essential fish handling, delousing and slaughtering have not been possible.

The announcement added: “The Norwegian Food Safety Authority believes that the company has not been able to provide sufficient guarantees that the serious deficiencies related to operations and emergency preparedness will be rectified.

“The Norwegian Food Safety Authority also believes that the proposed system improvements will not be sufficient.”

The decision, it said, is based on the Food Act, the Animal Welfare Act and underlying regulations on aquaculture operations.

Arctic Fish Farm has the right to appeal the decision.

Originally known as SalMar Aker Ocean, the Aker group pulled out of the offshore venture nine months ago.

 In order to strengthen and concentrate its efforts in the area of offshore aquaculture, SalMar created the subsidiary SalMar Ocean AS, with the purpose of creating a world-leading offshore farming company.

The segment has currently two semi-offshore units in operation, Ocean Farm 1 and Arctic Offshore Farming. Ocean Farm 1 completed its third production cycle in 2024 and Arctic Offshore Farming completed its first production cycle early 2024.