'Halibut is a high-quality product and demand has risen significantly in recent years, with increasing acceptance of farmed halibut among consumers'

Nordic Halibut receives funding of NOK 178 million

NORWAY
Tuesday, April 23, 2024, 07:00 (GMT + 9)

Eksfin and Innovation Norway finance Nordic Halibut with a total of NOK 178 million

The halibut farming company Nordic Halibut on Averøy in Møre and Romsdal receives loan financing of NOK 102.5 million from Innovation Norway and NOK 75 million from Export Finance Norway (Eksfin) for the investment and operation of a new land-based seine fishery at Tingvoll.

Greater capacity and higher quality

At Tingvoll in Møre og Romsdal, Nordic Halibut is building a new seabream facility to ensure sufficient capacity and quality of fry production, and at the same time expand the possibility for further biological development. This facility will play a decisive role in reducing the risk associated with future production cycles and is absolutely central to the company's achievement of growth targets and profitability. The company has now secured more capital from Innovation Norway and Eksfin for investments and operations.

This is an example of a project Norway needs more of in the coming years. Halibut farming has the potential to become an important growth and export industry for our region and for Norway as a nation. Innovation Norway has supported the company in previous projects, and I have great faith that this project will help the company take new steps, says Helge Gjerde, regional director of Innovation Norway in Møre and Romsdal.

"It is important for Eksfin to support innovative companies that drive development in the aquaculture industry going forward. The aquaculture industry is particularly export-oriented, has great growth potential and is a very important industry for Norway. Eksfin also wishes to support companies that are subcontractors to exporters", says Tone Lunde Bakker, managing director of Eksfin.

Managing Director of Nordic Halibut, Edvard Henden, is pleased that the project can now be realised:

"We thank Innovation Noreg, Eksfin, SR-Bank and Sparebank1 Nordmøre for their cooperation in realizing the facility at Tingvoll. The production of viable halibut on an industrial scale represents a unique opportunity, and we are pleased to observe that these strong financial institutions share our vision", says managing director Edvard Henden.

Increased demand for halibut

Halibut is a high-quality product and demand has risen significantly in recent years, with increasing acceptance of farmed halibut among consumers. In the USA, among other things, demand has increased by 14 per cent every year in the period 2010-2020. Halibut is a relatively new species in commercial farming, but through the unique expertise in aquaculture locally and nationally, targeted breeding programs and technology development, the production time has decreased and volume and quality have stabilized.

Menon Economics recently pointed out that 92% of turnover in the Norwegian aquaculture industry between 2018-2021 comes from exports. The great progress the company Nordic Halibut is making supports the government's goal of further commercialization of new farming species and contributes to increased growth and exports.

With the new facility, the company will have the capacity to release over 2 million fish into the sea annually, which will give a harvest volume of 10,000 tonnes, doubling current production.

Environmentally and socially sustainable

The facility at Tingvoll will be built close to Nordic Halibut's sea location on Nordmøre. This enables logistics that reduce the climate footprint and increase the quality of the product. Water for the plant is taken from a depth of 220 meters and is perfectly suited for land-based halibut production without the need for advanced technological water treatment or heating. This makes the plant energy efficient in addition to minimizing technological risk throughout the entire production cycle. The project also contributed positively to employment and technology development in the district both via the company and the subcontractors. In addition, it will help to strengthen the marine cluster along the Møre coast.

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