Salfjord and Norway Offshore Salmon Form Joint Venture Salfjord Offshore to Compete for Norway's First Offshore Salmon Farming Licenses

Norwegian land-based farming company Salfjord and startup Norway Offshore Salmon announced on November 5, 2026 the establishment of joint venture Salfjord Offshore, joining the competition for Norway's first commercial offshore salmon farming.

The new company will apply for licenses in the three offshore farming areas approved by the Norwegian government in February 2026, with the government planning to issue the first licenses in 2027. Salfjord Offshore will focus on the Frøyabanken area. According to the source, the three areas Norskerenna Sør, Frøyabanken Nord and Trænabanken are each expected to be divided into multiple farming blocks, each covering hundreds of square kilometers.

Salfjord Offshore plans to combine Aqualoop's Big Dipper offshore salmon farming platform with large postsmolt (juveniles for offshore farming) supply from Salfjord's land-based facility at Tjeldbergodden. The land-based facility, once fully operational, can produce 43,000 tonnes of salmon.

Norway Offshore Salmon chairman Håvard Wollan said in a press release that suitable postsmolt, so-called "offshore-smolt", is one of the most important success factors for offshore salmon farming, and that Salfjord holds one of Norway's largest land-based salmon production licenses and a very capable team. Salfjord CEO Hans Ramsvik said Salfjord's land-based facility is also suitable for producing postsmolt, and offshore farming will require large volumes of offshore-smolt, giving Salfjord a strong long-term role in the new value chain. Ramsvik also said that together the two parties form an integrated solution: land-based postsmolt, the Aqualoop Big Dipper platform, and Norway Offshore Salmon's capabilities in developing and managing offshore farming operations; Norway Offshore Salmon also brings in Norwegian institutions such as DNV, BOA Offshore and SINTEF.

Wollan said that by placing multiple Big Dipper platforms within one offshore block, Salfjord Offshore can produce very large volumes of farmed salmon, and Salfjord can supply offshore-smolt for this production. Norway Offshore Salmon also cooperates with other offshore farming companies, including Havlaks. Ramsvik said offshore farming is a huge opportunity, but also a demanding capability upgrade and new industry development for the sector, and that having multiple players able to learn from each other is an advantage.

Salfjord Offshore will become a member of Sjømatbedriftene, of which both Norway Offshore Salmon and Salfjord are currently members. Sjømatbedriftene CEO Robert Holmøy Eriksson said the organization has organized more new offshore farming companies than any other body and welcomes Salfjord Offshore; offshore farming is no longer just an R&D project, and companies are now seen building the industrial structures needed to establish a new value chain, an important step toward commercial offshore production; if the government's plans are realized, the industry can quickly unlock NOK 75-100 billion in investment and create substantial activity for shipyards, the supplier industry and the coastal maritime environment.

Salfjord has numerous shareholders, with Finn Backer, through Fosna Forvaltning, as the largest. The startup Norway Offshore Salmon is wholly owned by Aqualoop CEO Håvard Wollan.