Bergen, Norway-based Mowi has opened a new post-smolt facility at its freshwater site in Haukå.
Mowi CEO Ivan Vindheim opened the facility, calling it “a large and strategically very important investment for Mowi. With this facility, we will be able to produce healthy and sustainable food in an even better and more efficient way.”
Mowi said continued investment in post-smolt facilities is central to its current strategy. Its new facility at Haukå is the third coompany has recently built on the Norwegian coast, and it still has four more are planned. When they are complete, the company’s total investment in the facilities will be NOK 2.2 billion (USD 215 million, EUR 191 million).
“Post-smolts are a key part of the work to improve survival, welfare and productivity in the company. By keeping the fish on land until they are larger, we get a more robust smolt that needs significantly less time at sea," Mowi Norway CEO Øyvind Oaland Oakland said. “Our calculations show that we can almost halve both mortality and the number of delousing by using post-smolt."
The new facility will produce 6.4 million post-smolts per year with an average weight of 700 grams; it will employ 11 to 25 people, including two apprentices.
Director of Mowi Region West Asgeir Hasund said that the new site is a symbol of growth for the company.
"With this facility, we are taking an important step forward – for the company, for the employees and for our entire district. This major investment creates new jobs, strengthens local value creation and contributes to a vibrant district," Hasund said.
Vindheim took the site’s opening as an opportunity to comment on …
