“It has not been an easy decision as we have become very happy in both Bildudalur and with the people who live here.”
Kristian Matthiasson is moving the family back home to Norway by next summer.
Matthiasson has lead Arnarlax since 2014, the same year the company put their first batch of fish in the sea.
Very demanding
When SalmonBusiness visited Matthiasson and Arnarlax in September, he said that 2018 was the year he “wanted to be over and done with.”
There have been many challenges for the farmer in that year, including salmon mortalities, weak results, bacterial kidney disease (BKD) problems and even a bitter conflict between the company and Iceland’s offical culinary team. Arnarlax recently received an apology from The Icelandic Chefs Association.
“Building a salmon farm on Sagaøya behind mountains and valleys, without any infrastructure has been very demanding, but now I feel that the industrial development and Arnarlax are in a new phase of need for different roles” wrote Matthiasson.
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SalMar takes over
Matthiasson is moving back to Norway this summer. “I will go into the company’s board and also work in selected projects, as it is unfortunately a little too early to talk about at the present time,” he added.
“It has not been an easy decision as we have become very happy in both Bildudalur and with the people who live here” he added.
Head of fry production at SalMar, Bjørn Hembre, will replace Matthiasson.
“Both I and Arnarlax are very pleased to have landed a capacity like Bjørn Hembre. I’m sure Bjørn will provide us with new skills that will help develop Arnarlax to the company we hope it will be, “concluded Matthiasson.
