January 26, 2023

Norway extends fish farm permit review by six months

Bjørnar Skjæran, Norway's Fisheries Minister, has extended the deadline for a review of the country's fish farming permit system by a further six months, Fish Information & Services reported.

Skjæran said the committee, appointed in October 2021 to look into how the permit system for the aquaculture industry should be set up, has asked for more time.

He said it is crucial that the committee conducts a careful analysis of how Norway can get a simpler and more comprehensive system, which contributes to sustainable growth in the industry, takes into account wild salmon, and facilitates the greatest value creation for society.

The committee was established by the center-right government of former prime minister Erna Solberg just before it lost the general election and was succeeded by a center-left government led by the Labour and Center parties.

The new government decided on November 29, 2021, that the committee should continue with a slightly modified mandate and membership.

Since then, the government has put forth a proposal for a 40% resource-use tax on the value that salmon and trout add while they are being raised in pens in the nation's fjords.

Many farming businesses have frozen their investment plans as a result of that proposal, which was made last September. Some have warned that the money grab threatens Norway's position as the top producer of farmed salmonids in the world.

-      Fish Information & Services