Geir Ove Ystmark, CEO at Seafood Norway, believes it is “unthinkable” to invest in ocean rigs with a resoruce rent tax on fish farming.
Last week it was announced that the Norwegian government will assess the impact of offshore fish. Three sea areas have been identified for the investment: Trænabanken outside Bodø, Frøyabanken Nord outside Trondheim and Norskerenna Sør outside Stavanger.
A venture into farming on rigs in the open sea will be very capital-intensive. CEO of Seafood Norway, Geir Ove Ystmak, believes that tax could become a significant bottleneck for investments.
“We are concerned that such investments cannot be carried out when such a huge amount of capital disappears as a result of the resource rent tax proposal,” Ystmark tells TV2.
Ystmark is also calling for a regulatory framework for farming in the open sea.
“If the government is going to tax the aquaculture industry with a tax rate that will be over 80 per cent in total, it is inconceivable that offshore aquaculture can be carried out. Most of the capital for investments in the last 15-20 years has come from dividends in the aquaculture companies,” he points out.
