Norway’s Directorate of Fisheries has approved the conversion of Arctic Offshore Farming AS’s eight development licences into standard commercial farming permits, marking a key step in the project’s transition from pilot phase to potential full-scale production.
The decision converts seven licences to 796 tonnes maximum allowed biomass (MTB) each, and one licence to 540 tonnes MTB.
The company is now free to either continue operating under its Arctic Offshore Farming (AOF) concept or deploy the licences within conventional salmon production. Before the permits can be used commercially, however, the company must apply for allocation within one or more production areas. Following allocation by the Directorate, final site clearance must be obtained from the relevant county authorities.
Arctic Offshore Farming AS, originally backed by Norway Royal Salmon ASA and Aker ASA, was awarded development licences on 8 March 2018. The company is now owned by SalMar ASA.
The development licence scheme was introduced as a temporary framework to support projects involving significant innovation and capital investment. The aim was to advance technologies capable of addressing environmental and spatial constraints facing the aquaculture industry.
The conversion decision allows Arctic Offshore Farming to move from a development regime into the standard licensing system, subject to regulatory approvals and site allocation.