Norwegian salmon farming giant Grieg Seafood on Thursday said it had been granted five licenses to farm in Newfoundland and Labrador, giving the company approval to farm 30,000 metric tons of Atlantic salmon in the area.
Grieg Seafood’s proposed Placentia Bay project will be comprised of 11 sea sites. The company was already approved for three licenses earlier this year.
In February Grieg Seafood acquired Grieg Newfoundland, Canada, with a long-term annual harvest potential of 30,000-45,000 metric tons of Atlantic salmon.
The Newfoundland project includes exclusivity for salmon farming in Placentia Bay, which has a salmon farming area larger than the Faroe Islands.
The company plans for an annual harvest of 15,000 metric tons by 2025, with the first harvest in 2022-2023.
The second phase, which is set to be reached in the next five years, has an annual harvest volume target of up to 33,000 metric tons, according to the company.
Grieg Seafood suffered a painful second quarter as high costs and lower revenues nudged earnings over a cliff.
The company’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) plummeted 67 percent to NOK 130.7 million (€12.4 million/$14.8 million) as currency-related costs drove down profits.
Revenues didn’t help the cause, falling 8 percent to NOK 1.4 billion (€133 million/$159 million) thanks to lower spot prices and downgrades.
The group harvested 23,910 metric tons of salmon, an increase of 9.7 percent, but the average realized price was down, mainly driven by COVID-stricken market prices in addition to lower prices achieved on downgraded volumes in Finnmark.