One of the pools at Andfjord Salmon's land-based site in Kvalnes, Andøya, Norway.
Photo: Andfjord Salmon
Andfjord Salmon has today reported continued strong biological performance at its Kvalnes facility in Andøya, Norway, as the company prepares for its first post-smolt sale in June.
The Norwegian land-based aquaculture company, which presented its results for the first quarter of 2026 in Oslo this morning, said survival rates in its two operational pools, K0 and K1, remain above 99%, with total standing biomass currently at 1,584 tonnes.
In pool K0, where fish have been in production for eight months, survival stood at 99.17% as of 27 May 2026. The average weight of these fish was 2.1 kg, with a feed conversion ratio of 1.03 and standing biomass of 727 tonnes, the company said. Meanwhile, in pool K1, where fish have been in production for 6.5 months, survival was 99.24%, with an average weight of 1.15 kg, with FCR at 0.93 and a standing biomass of 857 tonnes.
“The solid biological conditions are also reflected in the salmon's weight gain and the resulting biomass growth. We also maintain efficient feed utilization. Overall, we are very satisfied with our fish farming performance, and we look forward to replicating this in more pools going forward,” said Andfjord Salmon CEO Martin Rasmussen.
The company said its first sale of post-smolt under its strategic partnership with Eidsfjord Sjøfarm has now been agreed for mid-June, ahead of schedule due to stronger-than-expected growth in pool K1.
Approximately 450,000 post-smolt will be sold from K1 to Eidsfjord Sjøfarm, while around 300,000 fish will be retained in the pool for grow-out.
“Our inaugural post-smolt sale is an important milestone as it demonstrates how our infrastructure solutions enable scaling and optimization of pool capacity and production, which shortens our runway to revenue and improves our cash flow. We look forward to proving this in practice in mid-June,” Rasmussen said.
Andfjord Salmon confirmed it has also started releasing approximately 550,000 smolt into pool K3, making it the third pool in operation at Kvalnes. The smolt, which have an average weight of around 120 grams, were purchased from Eidsfjord Sjøfarm and are intended for post-smolt production.
“The initiation of fish farming operations in pool K3 represents further scale-up of operations at Kvalnes, with more pools to follow later this year,” Rasmussen said.
The company has also entered into fixed-price contracts with the Norwegian contractor Entreprenør Harald Nilsen AS for the construction of pools K5 and K7 at Kvalnes. The same contractor is currently completing pools K2 and K4. Andfjord Salmon said these agreements provide cost certainty for the continued build-out of the site.
Last year, the company announced it was mounting a compensation claim of more than NOK 1 billion against its former main contractor, AF Hæhre & Contur Ans, alleging what it describes as "grossly negligent performance" and "wilful breach of contract".
Reporting its Q1 2026 financial results, the company said total operating income was NOK 0.1 million, compared with NOK 0 million in Q1 2025, as it remains in the middle of production cycles ahead of the first post-smolt sale.
The company reported a net loss of NOK 23.9 million for the quarter, compared with a net loss of NOK 18 million in the same period last year.
Andfjord Salmon also said it had strengthened its bank financing during the quarter, increasing its total facility by NOK 200 million to NOK 1.5 billion, of which NOK 600 million remains undrawn.
Last month, the company announced it had secured NOK 385 million (€35.1m / $41.3m) through a private placement of shares, with the proceeds earmarked for the next phase of the project and for general corporate purposes. This included participation from some of Andfjord Salmon’s largest existing shareholders, including the Portuguese agri-food giant Jerónimo Martins Agro-Alimentar.