Paul Birger Torgnes (center) was honored last year with the 2024 FEAP Award. In the photo, he appears between FEAP's current President, Lara Barazi Geroulanou, and its Past President, Marco Gilmozzi.
Photo: FEAP.
In a statement released yesterday, Icelandic company Samherji Fish Farming ehf. -a subsidiary of Iceland's Samherji hf.- announced that Norwegian aquaculture pioneer Paul Birger Torgnes was elected last Friday as a new member of its Board of Directors.
With extensive experience in both Norwegian aquaculture and international business management, Torgnes joins the company's Board, replacing another well-known and experienced Norwegian executive, Alf-Helge Aarskog, who passed away at the end of November after a brief illness. The company paid tribute to him in the announcement of his successor's appointment.
"Alf-Helge Aarskog joined the Board of Samherji Fish Farming ehf. in 2022 after becoming a shareholder in the company. He possessed comprehensive knowledge of international aquaculture," reminisced Þorsteinn Már Baldvinsson, Chairman of the Board of Samherji Fish Farming ehf.
"With Alf-Helge Aarskog joining the board of Samherji Fish Farming ehf., important expertise and a large network of contacts were added. He took an active part in shaping the strategy for the development of Samherji Fish Farming ehf., and for that we will be forever grateful to him," he continued.
"On behalf of Samherji Fish Farming ehf., I thank Alf-Helge Aarskog, with warmth and respect, for the companionship and good friendship over a long period," Baldvinsson concluded.
As for his successor, a pivotal figure in the aquaculture industry since the early 1980s, Samherji highlighted that he has been actively involved in Norwegian aquaculture for decades as the founder and CEO of Fjord Seafood, which later became one of the companies that formed Mowi, the world's largest salmon farming company.
The company also noted that Paul Birger Torgnes has served on the Board of organizations of Norwegian aquaculture companies—he was, for example, Secretary General of Sjømat Norge—and, recently, has been an investor and Chairman of the Board of various Norwegian investment companies. In recent years, he has been Chairman of the Board of Torghatten Aqua, an investment and development company in which he and his family hold a majority stake.
An internationally renowned aquaculture professional, Torgnes received recognition last year from the Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP), which awarded him the 2024 FEAP Award, which honors outstanding contributions to European aquaculture.
"With a broad experience and involvement in commercial activities in many European countries, he dedicated sincere interest to promoting and securing the interests for aquaculture in the Norwegian, European and Global aquaculture businesses for many years," FEAP said at the time.
Now, with the announcement of his appointment as a member of the Board of Samherji Fish Farming ehf., it has been the Chairman of the Icelandic company who, in welcoming him as a new member, highlighted his extensive knowledge and experience in international aquaculture.
"We at Samherji are well acquainted with Paul Birger's work after good acquaintance, cooperation, and communication over nearly twenty years," Þorsteinn Már Baldvinsson said. "It is an honor and a recognition for us to have such an experienced man join the Board, a man who will take part in the major development that is now underway on the Reykjanes Peninsula," he added.
Groundworks for Samherji's Salmon Garden began in October 2024. The land-based aquaculture facility will be built in three phases.
Photo: Steinar Sæmundsson / Samherji hf.
The major development Baldvinsson was referring to is Samherji's Salmon Garden, which aims to be one of the largest salmon farms in the world. Once completed, the new land-based aquaculture facility will be able to produce around 40,000 tons of salmon per year.
With construction, which began in October 2024, currently underway in the Resource Park on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland, the farming land-based facility will be built in the vicinity of the Reykjanes power plant. Hot water from the power plant will be used for aquaculture, water that would otherwise flow unused into the sea.
The production will also generate valuable byproducts, such as meal and organic waste, which will be used by other companies in their operations. Samherji Fish Farming's goal is for the farm to become one of the most profitable and environmentally friendly aquaculture facilities in the world.
The construction of Salmon Garden has been planned in three phases. Financing for Phase 1 was completed at the end of April with a total of EUR 235 million raised. Three months later, thanks to growing investor interest, what was supposed to be a EUR 125 million equity financing round ended up as a successful private placement in which the company ultimately raised EUR 210 million.
As Samherji Fish Farming said at the time, the completion of these two equity placements for the first two phases of Salmon Garden allowed it to immediately begin preparations for the design and construction of Phase 2 of the Reykjanes facility, which in turn will allow it to build the facility faster than planned.
