In connection with the uncertainty surrounding the design of the standard price for the aquaculture industry, Nova Sea will reduce from two to one shift the filleting line at Lovund. This means that 18 skilled employees will not have their contracts with Nova Sea renewed next year.
Thereby, managing director Tom Eirik Aasjord said: "It is very frustrating that it is this type of circumstance means we cannot maintain our further processing activity. These are skilled employees who have already been trained in the work here with us. We are very concerned that we are now losing competent labor."
From January, it was originally planned to continue two shifts to produce fillets on fixed contracts. With the launch of ground rent tax and, in particular, the standard price, the risk of entering into fixed price agreements with suppliers became unreasonably high. The entire bottom fell out of the fixed contract market for salmon. With that, the basis for more than one shift in fillet production from January 2023 also has disappeared.
Tom Eirik Aasjord commented on the statements in which some people accuse the industry of playing tricks when laying off employees: "It is unreasonable in itself that we in the industry should treat our employees as pawns in such a game. Without fixed price agreements, we have less need for employees who fillet our fish. This is something we don't want. It goes against our DNA, which has created jobs and communities for 50 years."
Steinar Olaisen was a salmon farming pioneer and the founder of Nova Sea. It is still run according to his philosophy of honesty and operational prudence, with a focus on quality and sustainability.
From the first 1,200 smolts raised in 1972 to over 12 million salmon produced today, Nova Sea has grown to be one of Northern Norway's largest salmon farmers. Finally, none of this would have been possible without a competent and dedicated workforce.