Continuing biological challenges at its Norwegian and British Columbia (B.C.) salmon farming sites impacted Grieg Seafood ASA’s production and results in Q3, hitting its revenue and earnings.
Grieg’s Q3 2023 report, published on 14 November 2023, said the company had low harvest volumes in the quarter, as the focus was put on rebuilding biomass.
CEO Andreas Kvame said that as a result of the low salmon harvest volume, costs per kilogram increased. Operational performance had been impacted by a mixture of different biological challenges, including the Spiro parasite (Spironucleus salmonicida) in its Finnmark region, harvesting at low weights due to previous infectious salmon anemia (ISA) outbreaks in Rogaland, and seasonal biological issues in BC.
“Unfortunately, these events reduced our price achievement and earnings,” he said. “I am not satisfied with the results. We are turning every stone in the regions to get back on track. Mitigating measures have been implemented, such as vaccination programs against ISA and winter ulcers as well as a UV-filter to prevent Spiro from entering our smolt facility.”
Due to the long production cycle of farmed salmon, it will take some time before Grieg sees the effect of the measures, Kvame said. But he added that he’s encouraged that the underlying biology in Rogaland is good, while in Finnmark, the generation of fish transferred to the ocean during 2023 has not been impacted by Spiro and is performing well.
Kvame said Newfoundland’s first harvest in October was a “high point,” and that the biological control in the region has been strong, with high survival, good fish health and welfare, good growth, good product quality, and no sea lice issues.
“We look forward to taking the next steps in...
Photo courtesy of Grieg Seafood ASA
