SalMar takes no chances in the northern part of Norway. And soon the slaughter boat “Norwegian Gannet” will reach the area that is exposed to algae problems.
“We follow the situation closely by talking to other farmers, taking continuous water samples, following current and wind directions. We do not have much experience with algae from the past, but what we have seen is that a bloom lasts for a short period of time, and it is gone as fast as it came, so that this lasts for a longer period, I have no faith in,” says SalMar chief Olav-Andreas Ervik to TDN Direkt.
1,000 tons
SalMar has a site in the Solbergfjord, Troms region, where the fish has been slaughtered 2-3 weeks before the time to not take unnecessary risk.
“In Solberg there are some cages that were planned to be harvested in week 23, where we decided to harvest as soon as possible in order not to take unnecessary risk in relation to the bloom,” he says.
According to E24, there is 1,000 tonnes of salmon at this site.
Furthermore, SalMar expects that their locations further north will not be affected by the situation.
Reinforcements
According to the farmers affected in the north, there have been major challenges with tools and infrastructure to handle the extensive and unexpected volumes of dead fish in the area.
SalmonBusiness yesterday reported that the slaughter boat “Norwegian Gannet” is being put in to help the farmers. On Wednesday morning, “Norwegian Gannet” goes west of Sandnessjøen, heading for the northeast, according to MarineTraffic.
It is not known whether SalMar will use the slaughter boat’s services.
