Ålesund, Norway-based seafood handling and processing technology company Optimar announced three new contracts worth NOK 70 million (USD 7.3 million) with Akureyri, Iceland-based fishing company Samherji for a land-based aquaculture facility called “Salmon Garden.”
“These contracts demonstrate the breadth of what we can deliver within aquaculture,” Optimar Sales Manager Espen Rørvik said in a release. “We are proud to support Samherji with integrated solutions that cover several critical parts of the value chain.”
The three contracts each fund a different aspect of the project – a fully automated washing system for tanks and pipes, an ensilage solution for dead fish handling, and a complete slaughter line, Optimar said.
Having an automated washing system will help the company reduce manual labor and maintain high biosecurity standards at a faster rate, the company claimed. Overall, the “Salmon Garden” is planned to reach 40,000 metric tons of annual production capacity in Iceland.
The second contract will fund a complete ensilage system, which safely converts fish by-products into silage for disposal.
The third contract will fund a full stun and bleed system that humanely kills fish by stunning them unconscious and then drains their blood for easier cleanup. Optimar added that the three funded projects will provide Samherji with one consistent processing equipment supplier and one point of contact from farming to processing.
“This is only the beginning,” Optimar Sales Manager Magne Bjørge said. “The project is massive and we will continue our close collaboration with Samherji in the years to come.”
Optimar and Samherji have a past relationship; in October 2024, investment company Kaldbakur, owned by the two founders of Samherji, acquired Optimar International.
In August 2025, Samherji CEO Bladvin Thorsteinsson said financial strains impacted the Icelandic fishing company’s earnings, but touted the “Salmon Garden,” as a strategy to gain capital.
“The company’s strategy is to continue [on] this path,” Thorsteinsson said in August. The largest current project is the Salmon Garden – a new land-based aquaculture facility in Reykjanes, which will create a number of permanent, year-round jobs locally and significant export revenue.”
As of August 2025, the total equity raised for the project was EUR 210 million (USD 244.5 million), with Samherji contributing close to half of the equity and external investors covering the remainder.
In December 2025, Samherji was sued for USD 1 billion (EUR 945 million) over claims tied to the “Fishrot” scandal by a U.K.-based collection company. The lawsuit targeted the Icelandic company and management, claiming it was involved in schemes in Namibia that allowed it to gain access to fishing grounds. The scandal first came to light in 2019, and as of December 2025, Samherji had not released a detailed explanation of the grounds of the claim.
