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The Norwegian Food Safety Authority Mattilsynet has announced it is withdrawing its permission for semi-offshore aquaculture operations given to Arctic Ocean Farming, part of the SalMar group, for its Fellesholmen site.
The Norwegian authority granted the SalMar-owned aquaculture company a development permit in 2018, but has recently found "significant violations of regulations related to fish welfare, animal health and biosecurity" at the site, located near Tromsø, Norway.
"The construction and exposed location of the facility have made the facility inaccessible for up to three months. Necessary fish handling, delousing and slaughtering have not been possible," Mattilsynet stated in a Norwegian language announcement on its website, in a decision it said was based on the Food Act, the Animal Welfare Act and underlying regulations on aquaculture operations.
The Norwegian authority noted that the company has the right to appeal the decision, but stated its view that it had not provided sufficient guarantees "that the serious deficiencies related to operations and emergency preparedness will be rectified", and that its proposed system improvements "will not be sufficient".
The closure comes following a previous controversy over a possible fish escape and discrepancies over reporting at AOF's facility. The company reported serious damage to the cage system at its Fellesholmen site in November 2024, but at the time said no salmon had escaped from the facility.
However, in May 2025, it emerged a subsequent count showed a discrepancy of several thousands of fish compared to previously reported numbers. At the time, Directorate of Fisheries' head of aquaculture noted the "uncertainty" over the possible extent of the incident meant the authority would "continue to follow up on the matter."
The closure comes as a setback for owner SalMar, which acquired Tromso-based Arctic Offshore Farming (AOF) as part of its merger with Norway Royal Salmon in 2022. AOF was originally Norway Royal Salmon's ambitious offshore project. The project suffered delays due to the coronavirus pandemic, but secured 8 concessions from Norwegian authorities for offshore aquaculture development and launched the first of its facilities in 2021.
AOF was later brought under the ownership of SalMar Aker Ocean in 2023. In March this year, SalMar signed a deal to become the sole owner of SalMar Aker Ocean, buying out Aker's 15% stake in the joint venture, valued at NOK 650 million.
SalMar's other semi-offshore project, Ocean Farm 1, is located off Frøya, Norway, and is described as the world's first large-scale, semi-submersible offshore fish farm, with a diameter of 110 metres, and a volume of 250,000 cubic metres.
According to SalMar, Ocean Farm 1 completed its third production cycle in 2024 and Arctic Offshore Farming completed its first production cycle in early 2024. SalMar also secured site approval for an offshore open ocean unit in September 2023, as part of its "Smart Fish Farm project". However, further work on this is currently put on hold "due to regulatory uncertainty," the company said.
