Smolt release at Andfjord Salmon's Kvalnes site in September 2025.
Photo: Andfjord Salmon
Norwegian aquaculture company Andfjord Salmon has announced the successful release of around 350,000 smolt at its land-based facility in Kvalnes, Andøy. The release took place on 30 September and marks the start of what the company described as a significant expansion of its fish farming operations.
The smolt, with an average weight of 180 grams, were transferred into pool K0. Andfjord Salmon said the release was carried out as planned, the fish adapted quickly, and biological conditions in the pool are stable.
“We have been looking forward to this day for quite some time," said CEO Martin Rasmussen. "Our team of fish farming experts is excited about starting a new period of fish farming operations and eager to once again demonstrate the biological benefits of our proprietary flow-through system. I am proud of how meticulously they have planned and safely executed this smolt release.”
The company also confirmed that a further 750,000 smolt are scheduled to be released into pool K1 at the same site in late October. Rasmussen said the release "marks the beginning of a new chapter for Andfjord Salmon, with fish farming operations once again taking centre stage."
"The current and upcoming smolt releases represent the launch of a significant scale-up of salmon farming activities at Kvalnes," Rasmussen added.
Andfjord Salmon’s last production cycle ended in June 2023. Since then, it has been developing new pools, harbour facilities, and waterways to support large-scale farming, and announced a revised build-out plan that would see it increase production capacity by 20%. According to the company, the Kvalnes site is being built to handle a future capacity of about 48,100 tonnes of salmon (HOG plus post-smolt).
