Norway's Small Organic Seafarm in Gildeskål Expands with Self-Built Equipment and Apprenticeship Scheme

The Norwegian aquaculture news site iLaks reported on 21 October 2026 that Organic Seafarm, located in Nygårdsjøen in Gildeskål municipality, got new owners this summer. The small farming company had previously remained small and low-profile, and its farming operation at Nygårdsjøen is the legacy of an early investment in cod farming — that attempt was not successful, but the people and equipment remained.

Starting from the land-based facility at the quay, the company took reporters to the Kjerkvika farming site. Production manager Endre Nordgård and deputy general manager Bertil Pettersen explained the on-site operations. Shift supervisor Oskar Kristensen said the fish here need to be divided into different groups, which requires new cages. At the site, new cages were being lowered into the water, with old anchor chains put back into use, each link weighing 250 kilograms. 19-year-old apprentice Lea Oseng was nearby receiving training in rope-tying, and told iLaks that she chose to enter the industry because the work seemed varied and interesting. 15-year-old Aron Cassander Vindvik, who studies natural agriculture at Inndyr, was doing an internship on site, observing the apprentice's work.

Pettersen said the company decided early on to invest in apprentice training as a way to build a young workforce, while also recruiting through other means. He said that for a small company, training this many apprentices creates some pressure, but it is going well; not all apprentices stay on after completing their training, because positions are limited — some stay, while others move on after obtaining their trade certificates. The company currently has 13 employees in total.

Most employees come from the local area, and many live nearby; Pettersen himself lives not far from the land-based facility. Stian Evjen, the most senior technical manager at the feed centre, said he is responsible for ensuring that boats, feeding machines and other equipment operate properly; when he first joined in 2019, he spent more time on the cages dealing with minor faults, but now many things are resolved by the farm workers themselves. Torbjørn Hemminghytt, who grew up in Nygårdsjøen, joined in 2023 and obtained his trade certificate at the company; he is currently a trainee aiming to qualify as an operations supervisor. A third local employee, Tony Laxå Johansen, started out working at the cages and now monitors feeding from screens and manages the laser equipment used to kill sea lice.

Nordgård explained that the laser equipment was first put into use last October, and the company spent considerable time learning and testing it site by site; since the laser was introduced, no delousing treatment has yet been needed, and he is very satisfied with this result.

Much of the equipment at the farming site was built and modified in-house. Nordgård said the site originally farmed cod in cages with a 90-metre circumference, with no walkways, and the same setup continued in use during the development licence period; after the company purchased 100 tonnes of capacity and moved to commercial operation, it began refurbishing — dragging the equipment ashore, replacing it with newly built 120-metre-circumference cages, and mounting them on 50 mm diameter tubing — a diameter designed for harsher weather conditions than those at Nordfjorden, which also provided wider walkways, particularly important for using the specially made waterborne feed spreader. Both Nordgård and Pettersen said they are proud of this solution.

Pettersen also explained that in 2021 the company worked with MK-TECH to modify an old Poro feeding machine, which he understands is the only equipment of its kind in Norway capable of feeding underwater; the most recent two generations of fish have been fed with this new setup, and he considers it the modification that has had the greatest impact on the company's farming results.