Amelía Ósk Hjálmarsdóttir, First Water station manager, with a fish from the slaughtering.
Photo: First Water.
First Water reported that to date it has already slaughtered 1,000 tons of whole and gutted salmon in 2024. Compared to 2023 when the Icelandic land-based company slaughtered a total of 365 tons, this figure represents an increase of 635 tons - up 174% - with three months left to the end of the year.
This increase, the salmon company said in its release, is a sign of the great effort that has been put into the development of First Water and the company's production.
"We are very proud of this milestone and it's safe to say that it gives the staff an even more positive view of the goals we have set for ourselves," said Eggert Þór Kristófersson, CEO of First Water. "We have achieved this and are just getting started, but the plan is that by the end of the year, 1500 tons of salmon will have been slaughtered in 2024."
Currently, a hatchery at Öxnalæk, in Ölfus, supplies the company with all its salmon fry, but because of the company's rapid development, a new technologically advanced and high-quality hatchery will be built in Þorlákshöfn, so that capacity can be further increased.
"Everything we do is done with great care and the new fry farm will be no exception. We have put together a team of experts to take care of the development and the operations of the hatcheries. It will be exciting to see the results of that work," First Water’s CEO added.
The Icelandic farmer is building a 20,000-tonne land-based salmon plant at Þorlákshöfn, near Thorlákshöfn, in southwest Iceland. Construction is scheduled to be completed in 2029, but the total development of the farm will be carried out in six phases.
Formerly known as Thor Landeldi, in September 2023, Icelandic seafood investment fund IS Haf Investments, managed by Iceland Funds, acquired a 53% stake in the company. That capital is financing the first phase of development, with the construction of this hatchery on its 20.3-hectare site in Laxabraut, west of Þorlákshöfn.
When in mid-September the company announced the appointment of Ómar Grétarsson as the new Head of Sales and Marketing, Eggert Þór Kristófersson said he arrived at the right time to support the development of the company because they were planning big. Then, First Water reported that this past summer, around 200 people were already working at the company.