Norwegian aquaculture and fishing producer Lerøy Seafood Group (LSG) has confirmed its intention to expand its recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) capabilities with a potential new facility in the region of Vestland, in western Norway.
According to LSG’s fourth-quarter 2020 report, negotiations are underway for the land-based salmon farm, with the plan to develop the facility in three stages.
The first and second stages represent further increases in the group's post-smolt production. The third and final stage will also provide facilities for post-smolt production, but may also be used for salmon production up to harvest size, it said.
Initial cost estimates put the first two stages at around NOK 1 billion (USD 117.4 million, EUR 96.9 million), with the development projected to provide an annual increase in production in the sea of 8,000 to 10,000 metric tons (MT).
Construction work is scheduled for completion in 2023.
“The location of the plant, including the links to the group’s farming operations in West Norway, could potentially provide successful interaction between sea and land. The lessons learned may also be exploited to realize land-based projects in other regions,” the report stated.
Citing the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the demand and market prices for both salmonids and whitefish, LSG reported operating profit before fair-value adjustments of NOK 441 million (USD 51.8 million, EUR 42.8 million) for Q4 2020, down 43 percent year-on-year, while its revenue for the same period was 1 percent less than in the corresponding period of 2019 at NOK 5.2 billion (USD 610.7 million, EUR 504.1 million).
For the full-year 2020, the group’s revenue stood at less than NOK 20 billion (USD 2.3 billion, EUR 1.9 billion), down NOK 400 million (USD 47 million, EUR 38.8 million) on the previous year, while its operating profit fell by NOK 849 million (USD 99.8 million, EUR 82.4 million) to under NOK 1.9 billion (USD 223.2 million, EUR 184.2 million).
