Bakkafrost Group harvested 14,900 metric tons (MT) of head-on gutted (HOG) weight Atlantic salmon in the third quarter of 2021, which represented an increase of 3,800 MT from the corresponding period of 2020.
According to the Faroe Islands-based company’s latest trading update, the contribution to the total from its farming operations in the north of the Faroes amounted to 2,900 MT, while farms in the west and south supplied 7,800 MT and 4,300 MT, respectively.
For the same three months, its subsidiary the Scottish Salmon Company (SSC) achieved a harvest of 6,900 MT, down from 10,500 MT a year previously. Bakkafrost acquired a majority stake in SSC in October 2019.
Also in Q3, Bakkafrost sold 45,000 MT of feed, an increase of 5,100 MT year-on-year. Its aquafeed business Havsbrún sourced 17,200 MT of raw materials in the three-month period, down from 24,300 MT in Q2 2020
Bakkafrost’s full third-quarter 2021 report will be released on 9 November.
In 2020, Bakkafrost harvested 85,686 MT of salmon, up from 65,109 MT in 2019. This total comprised 50,700 MT from the Faroes, while the contribution from its Scottish operations amounted to 34,986 MT.
The company has forecast a 2021 harvest of 106,000 MT gutted weight, with 66,000 MT coming from the Faroe Islands and 40,000 MT from Scotland. It also expects to release around 14.5 million smolts in the Faroe Islands this year, compared to 14.3 million smolts in 2020, 12.7 million smolts in 2019 and 12.6 million smolts in 2018. The release in Scotland is expected to be 11 million smolts in 2021, compared to 10.4 million smolts in 2020, 12.4 million smolts in 2019 and 8.6 million smolts in 2018.
It expects a decrease in its production volumes of fishmeal and fish oil in 2021, with Havsbrún’s sales of fish feed expected to reach 120,000 MT, depending on external sales.
Photo courtesy of Bakkafrost
