"Helgeland Smolt AS is ready for the construction of a new smolt plant in Kilvika," with these words the Nova Sea-owned smolt producer announced the start of work on a new facility. If all goes according to plan, it will deliver its first smolt in the spring of 2026. For this, the company has a budget of more than NOK 1 billion (EUR 89.25 million – USD 99.90 million) which, after the salmon tax, seems to bring investments back to Norway.
Simply the announcement of a new salmon tax was enough to put most of the industry's investments in Norway on halt last autumn. Nova Sea, the company owner of Helgeland Smolt, was one of them, announcing the non-renewal of the contract of 18 of its workers in its filleting line at Lovund, or creating a subsidiary at the end of 2022 to transfer its concession before the new tax came into force on January 1, 2023. However, as it made clear in its consultation response to the proposed tax on ground rent in aquaculture, the company was willing to contribute more money to the community.
Its option is to do so with a new, modern salmon smolt facility at Kilvika, in the municipality of Meløy. The building, with a capacity to produce 10 million 600 g smolts, will be divided into 12 separate RAS (recirculating aquaculture systems) with a high degree of biosecurity. As mentioned, it has an investment framework of more than NOK 1 billion.
"Today we are just so incredibly happy and proud that we are starting construction in Kilvika. In order to be able to develop both us as a company, get even better fish, and at the same time be an important social actor in Salten and Helgeland, it is absolutely essential to get this project started," said Tor-Arne Gransjøen, Managing Director of Helgeland Smolt. "We are happy that our owners let us invest, and we are incredibly proud of what we create as a company."
Helgeland Smolt's new facility will be the first after the municipality of Meløy initiated the regulation of the Kilvik industrial zone in 2017. When fully operational, it will generate 20 new jobs in the locality. "This is fantastic news for the company, but also for Meløy municipality, which over several years has worked with facilitation in Kilvika to bring about new businesses," stated Sigurd Stormo, Mayor of Meløy. "This is of great importance for Meløy municipality and provides jobs in a future-oriented industry that we want to add correct for," he added.
In the announcement, Helgeland Smolt explained that there are two important reasons why, despite the tax landscape, they are starting now with the construction of this facility. The first is the health and biosecurity of the fish. The space available in the two facilities they already have is shrinking, and the flexibility of the new plant will provide better conditions for all the smolts they produce.
"A fresh and robust smolt in our facilities gives the salmon the best conditions for further growth in the sea, and therefore a new facility is very important to us, so that we can continue this into the future," said Tor-Arne Gransjøen. The company claimed its goal is to have the healthiest fish in Norway.
Secondly, the announcement continued, it is about developing and securing an entire supplier industry, "which has had tough times since October last year when the ground rent proposal was launched." The plant in Kilvika was one of the investments of the smolt company owned by Nova Sea put on hold when the tax on ground rent in aquaculture came up. Now, the announcement continued, they are starting construction, "despite" the salmon tax.
"We have a responsibility for our fish and for our suppliers. This responsibility is more important to us than the ground rent, even if the investment is significantly more demanding to realize than before the ground rent came in," concluded Helgeland Smolt Chairman, Tom Eirik Aasjord.
Fully owned by Nova Sea, Helgeland Smolt has two hatcheries in Nordland County. The first, in the municipality of Gildeskål, was completed in 2010 and has the capacity to produce 13 million smolts per year. The second, in Rødøy, was completed in 2015. To those two, it will now add a third facility in Meløy municipality. The company is licensed to produce 8 million 250 g smolts. In addition, it supplies post-smolt salmon over 500 g.