Photo: Måsøval.
Norwegian salmon farmer Måsøval announced yesterday its trading update for Q3 2024. The company said the harvested volume for the period was 7,138 tonnes of gutted weight (GWT). This includes the harvested volume for Frøya Laks of 43 tonnes GWT.
Specifically, in the third quarter of 2024, Måsøval harvested 101 tonnes GWT more - 1.4% up - than in the third quarter of 2023, when the harvested volume was 7,037. This means that, despite the infectious salmon anemia (ISA) issues in Frøya, the company has managed to maintain, and even slightly increase, the volume harvested in this same quarter last year.
In mid-August, Måsøval had to downgrade its harvest estimate following the outbreak of ISA on the Espnestaren and Måøydraga farms, both located in the municipality of Frøya.
At the time of the outbreak, there were approximately 1.1 million salmon at the Espnestaren site with an average weight of 3.4 kg WFE, and the plan was to finish the harvest in week 50. Part of these salmon was Aquagen broodstock and operated by Måsøval, which, in addition, also operates an educational license for Trøndelag Fylkeskommune at the site.
Meanwhile, at the Måøydraga site, there were approximately 274,000 salmon with an average weight of 3.8 kg WFE. In this case, the site was planned to finish harvest in week 39.
All this meant that the company, which had expected to harvest between 27,000 and 28,000 GWT in 2024, had to lower that figure to 26,500-27,500 GWT.
2024 is proving to be a year of ups and downs for Måsøval. After a Q4 2023 in which its profits soared, sales and processing losses overshadowed its Q1 2024 in which, despite strong offshore production, results were weighed down by low prices achieved due to "substandard" quality. The company recovered in Q2 2024, when, despite market volatility, it reported robust results.
The trading update for Q3 2024 shows the company has at least maintained the harvest volume. The full report for Q3 2024, where we will be able to know if they have also maintained the value, will be published on November 19.