Aker Seafoods on Friday announced that it acquired the remaining 40 percent stake in Spanish fishing company Pesquera Ancora.
The deal is valued at EUR 7 million (USD 9.1 million), and Pesquera Ancora is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the Norwegian company.
"Aker Seafoods will continue to optimize operations in the Spanish harvesting company," said Aker Seafoods CEO Liv Monica Stubholt.
Pesquera Ancora holds cod fishing rights and quotas in the Barents Sea and in Canadian waters. Since 2007, company cod quotas in the Barents Sea have increased 30 percent to approximately 3,100 metric tons in 2010, and they're expected to increase again in 2011. The cod biomass in Canadian waters is also increasing, and this year's quota of 180 metric tons is expected to increase in 2011.
Pesquera Ancora's two Spanish trawlers have harvested about two-thirds of their 2010 quotas and will end this season with a delivery in Vigo, Spain, in August. As for the rest of the fleet, it's been a productive season, according to Aker Seafoods.
