13 companies paid out € 243 million at salmon license auction

160 municipalities that have salmon farming activities within their boundaries can now share EUR 243 million following new growth in the salmon industry.

18 June, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries and the Directorate of Fisheries kicked off an auction for new salmon production licenses. The auction was announced after the government introduced the new ‘traffic light system’, designed to ensure responsible and predictable growth in the marine farming industry.

“The auction is still ongoing, but has already created record-breaking revenues for the country’s marine farming municipalities and county municipalities. Of what has so far been sold through the auction, more than EUR 243 million will be distributed to the municipal sector through the aquaculture fund. In addition, EUR 79,2 million is derived from growth attained by the sale of licenses at a fixed price last winter. This is an exceptionally well-deserved reward for the many municipalities that have for so long toiled at this incredibly important task of laying the groundwork for this industry of the future, “said the Minister of Fisheries Per Sandberg.

13 companies
The money from the salmon license auction is allocated to the Aquaculture Fund. The fund was created for municipalities to receive greater recompense for the job they do in smoothing the way for the aquaculture industry. Municipalities with salmon production will receive 80 per cent of the revenues achieved from sales of production licenses, distributed through the aquaculture fund.

13 companies have bid successfully for new production licenses to the total sum of EUR 243 million.

“Companies that have so far succeeded in the auction are diverse; everything from large international groups, to small, localised producers. The preliminary outcome reflects the current structure of the industry, and in fact, the small players have, relatively speaking, ramped up their share of production capacity. The auction is in many ways an accurate thumbnail of the marine farming industry: A sound business and district policy in one,” Sandberg said.

77 percent auctioned off so far
So far 11,879 tonnes of new production capacity has been sold through the auction, which accounts for around 77 percent of the total license capacity for sale.

3,480 tonnes of capacity remained after the auction had run for two days, which is up for auction today 20 June.

The table below shows the companies that have so far been successful in bidding for license capacity, and the price that was paid.