The End of an Era: Why Aino Olaisen Sold Nova Sea.
For more than 50 years, Aino Olaisen’s family built Nova Sea into one of Norway’s most respected salmon producers. Now, in a deal worth NOK 7.4 billion ($655 million), the business is passing into the hands of Mowi, the world’s largest farmed salmon company.
For a family business that has grown alongside the modern aquaculture industry, this is no ordinary sale. It is a sign of the pressures reshaping Norwegian salmon farming—a sector that has long rewarded pioneers but is becoming ever more dominated by capital, scale, and regulation.
“It was not an easy decision,” says Olaisen, CEO of Vigner Olaisen, the holding company for her family’s controlling stake in Nova Sea. “But we believe this is the best future for the company and its employees.”
The deal will see Mowi increase its stake in Nova Sea from 49% to 95%, consolidating control over one of the industry’s best-performing mid-sized players. For the Olaisen family, it marks the end of direct ownership—but not the end of their influence. They will reinvest a portion of the proceeds into Mowi, becoming a significant shareholder in the larger company, while Olaisen herself is expected to join Mowi’s board.
The Rise and Sale of a Family Business
Nova Sea is not just another salmon farming company. It is a symbol of Norwegian coastal entrepreneurship, built in an era when small, independent firms could still thrive.
For a large part of its history, Nova Sea operated in joint shareholdership with Mowi, with which it shared expertise and resources. The partnership allowed it to grow while retaining a strong regional identity.
But times have changed. The pressures facing Norway’s salmon industry today are not those of 20 years ago. The biggest companies are getting bigger. Regulation is becoming tighter. Biological challenges—disease, sea lice, and sustainability demands—are more complex and costly to manage.
For Olaisen, selling to Mowi was not about walking away but about ensuring Nova Sea had the capital and scale to thrive in this new reality.
“We have spent decades building this company alongside Mowi. Now, the challenges facing the industry require resources—both financial and human—that a merged company is better equipped to provide,” she explained in a statement on the Nova Sea website.
A Consolidating Industry
The sale of Nova Sea is part of a wider consolidation trend in Norwegian aquaculture. Running a salmon farm today is not the entrepreneurial adventure it once was. It is a capital-intensive, highly regulated, and increasingly corporate industry.
The introduction of Norway’s controversial ‘salmon tax’, which imposes an additional levy on farmed fish profits, has forced mid-sized players to rethink their future. Many family-owned farms now face a stark choice: scale up, sell, or struggle under financial and regulatory burdens.
Mowi, for its part, is eager to secure more high-quality production capacity in Northern Norway. With the acquisition, the company expects to harvest 572,000 tonnes of salmon in 2025, including 157,000 tonnes from Northern Norway alone.
The benefits of scale are clear. Mowi will invest in new infrastructure, including a state-of-the-art processing facility in Lovund and additional smolt capacity. The deal also promises improved biosecurity—a growing concern in an industry where disease outbreaks can wipe out millions in stock.
What’s Next for Norway’s Salmon Farmers?
The Nova Sea sale raises bigger questions about the future of Norwegian aquaculture. If family-owned firms like Nova Sea—successful, well-run, and profitable—can no longer justify independence, what does that mean for the industry?
For one, it suggests that the age of independent salmon barons is ending. The sector is shifting toward fewer, bigger players who can absorb the costs of regulation, biological risks, and environmental scrutiny.
It also cements Mowi’s dominance. The company, which has long been the biggest name in global salmon farming, now holds even greater sway over Norway’s production. Its decisions on sustainability, investment, and innovation will shape the future of the industry.
For Olaisen, the deal is a recognition of reality rather than a defeat.
“We are proud to have built something that has supported communities along the Helgeland coast. Now, we are ensuring that what we created will continue to grow—benefiting the salmon, the local community, and the company,” she says.
To underline this commitment, the family will establish a NOK 100 million development fund, aimed at supporting jobs and industrial projects on the Helgeland coast.
For Norway’s salmon farmers, the lesson is clear: The industry is changing, and adaptation—whether through investment, expansion, or selling up—is inevitable. For Nova Sea, that future will now unfold as part of Mowi’s global ambitions.