Norwegian salmon farmers bought 225,000 tonnes of fish feed in October. This is a decrease of two per cent from October 2020, shows Akvafakta’s monthly statistics which were presented on Wednesday night.
At the same time as feed consumption is falling, salmon exports are in high gear. During October, 148,000 tonnes of salmon were exported, which represents an increase of a generous eight per cent on last year.
This means that the biomass, the stock of fish in the sea, is put under pressure.
Last week, the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries’ calculated that the country’s salmon biomass was 1.8 per cent above last year at the end of October. This level is confirmed by Akvafakta, which sets the biomass at 850,000 tonnes – two percent above the level 12 months before.
A leaner biomass means that there will be fewer fish to slaughter – and sell – in the coming months. In a market characterised by strong demand growth, this will normally mean increased salmon prices.
