Green light for Helgeland Miljøfisk after three-year battle with Mattilsynet.
Norway’s food safety authority has given the green light to Helgeland Miljøfisk’s plans for a land-based salmon farming facility in Brønnøy, reversing an earlier rejection that had stalled the project for more than three years.
In a decision announced late Friday, Mattilsynet said it now deemed the company’s revised biosafety and water treatment plans sufficient to mitigate infection risks at the proposed site on Toftøya island. The development, if completed as planned, is expected to create between 200 and 300 jobs.
The approval brings the NOK 4bn project one step closer to realisation, though a separate discharge permit from the County Governor of Nordland remains outstanding. The environmental licence is a prerequisite for Nordland County Municipality to issue the final operating permit.
Helgeland Miljøfisk had previously seen its application rejected on the grounds that it failed to provide adequate measures for water filtration, internal control, and roof coverage of grow-out tanks. In its latest decision, Mattilsynet said new documentation submitted during the appeal process addressed those concerns.
Sten Roald Lorentzen, chief executive of Helgeland Miljøfisk, said the company now expects a similar outcome from the County Governor. “We believe we have responded in full to all concerns,” he said, adding that construction could begin later this year.
The company is owned by Aquaculture Innovation, which is majority-owned by Torghatten Aqua. All three are headquartered in Toft, outside Brønnøysund. The site is designed for an annual production capacity of up to 40,000 tonnes of Atlantic salmon.