Samherji fiskeldi ehf (Samherji Fish Farming), the aquaculture arm of Samherji has completed a share capital increase of US$26 million.
The funds will be used to build a pilot project for land-based salmon farming in Öxarfjördur, in Northeast Iceland, and to design and construct a 40,000-tonne salmon farm in the Resource Park next to the Reykjanes Power Plant in the Reykjanes Peninsula.
This is the first phase of a share capital increase of $56.5 million that has already been approved.
Following the share capital increase, a new board will be elected in Samherji Fish Farming at the company’s annual general meeting. Norwegian Alf-Helge Aarskog, former CEO of Mowi and one of the world’s most experienced experts in the field of aquaculture, has invested in Samherji Fish Farming and will join the company’s board of directors.
Samherji Fish Farming Managing Director, Jón Kjartan Jónsson, said there are few people in the world who have more experience in fish farming than Aarskog, adding that he will take the company’s knowledge to the next level.
“This is a great recognition of Samherji’s development of land farming over the past two decades,” Jónsson said.
Aarskog said that he was honoured to be asked to take part in the project and that the competence of the people in Samherji around fish and land-based farming is a great foundation.
“The fact that Samherji has produced Atlantic salmon and Arctic char on land for a long period of time makes this the first land-based project I have looked at that I really can believe in.
“The location chosen for this project, with abundant resources of water and energy, makes the project extremely interesting.
“There are fascinating times ahead for Samherji Fish Farming. The company has ambitious plans and the ability to achieve them and become a leading company in salmon farming in the world. I am very excited about this project and look forward to participating in the development and growth ahead,” he said.
Samherji currently operates five farms and two processing plants, specialising in in the land-based farming of Arctic char and salmon.
Expansion of the Öxarfjördur site has begun, which will raise its production output from 1,500 tonnes currently to 3,000 tonnes when the pilot project is complete.
According to current projections, fish will enter the new tanks on-site by the end of this year.
