Long hot summer is too much for Arctic char farmer

Blåfjell, based in Lierne, Trøndelag, recorded a pre-tax loss of NOK 10.5 million (£782,000) in 2024 and was struggling to find investors to tide the company over.

The last straw appears to be Norway’s long, hot summer this year which took its toll on both fish and equipment at the company. Char, a relative of Atlantic salmon, thrives best in cooler conditions.

Company Chairman Arne Øvereng told Norwegian news site E24: “We have not been able to get investors to be involved in the long term, and then the only thing left to do is to stop the business. 

Øvereng had been on the Blåfjell board for just four weeks, having been brought in with a mission to build on what had been achieved previously and attract new finance. As he put it, however: “…the foundation for it was not really there. So we have spent the weeks here over the summer to make a final round with potential investors.”

The liquidity crisis, due to production problems, was the final straw. Last week Blåfjell was placed in the hands of the receiver, who will have to decide the fate of its eight permanent employees and 15 temporary staff.

Blåfjell means “blue mountain”. Its facility is located close to the Blåfjella-Skjækerfjella national park in Lierne, north of Trondheim.