SalMar Aker Ocean (SAO) is active in the emerging semi-offshore salmon farming industry.
Aker’s ownership agenda
Aker owned 15 percent of the company’s shares per 31 December 2023, and 33.34 percent of the voting rights. Aker’s co-shareholder in SalMar Aker Ocean is SalMar, one of the world’s largest producers of farmed salmon, which owns 85 percent.
Sustainable seafood growth
SalMar and Aker has great ambissions for SalMar Aker Ocean. By the end of 2030, SalMar Aker Ocean aims to sustainably produce 150 000 tonnes of salmon per year at fish farms far out to sea. Achievement of its production targets in 2030 will make SalMar Aker Ocean one of the world’s largest producers of farmed salmon. Along the way, huge opportunities will be opened up for a Norwegian supply industry in transition. SalMar Aker Ocean has documented ripple effects in the form of thousands of industrial and engineering jobs in Norway, and will be at the forefront of ensuring sustainable growth on the salmon’s terms.
Such offshore aquaculture will require a new regulatory framework. SalMar Aker Ocean will work with the Norwegian authorities, the aquaculture industry and other stakeholders to establish such framework conditions. In the longer term, the company will grow in international markets on the basis of the knowledge and experience it has obtained in Norway.
Sucessful project development
SalMar Aker Ocean has completed two successful production cycles at the pioneering Ocean Farm 1 installation, located off the coast of Trøndelag, Norway. The experienced thus gained will be incorporated into the new and larger Ocean Farm 2, which is under development. The company has applied for permission to site the world’s first purely offshore fish farm, called the Smart Fish Farm, approximately 50 nautical miles west of Frøya in Central Norway.