Zalmboerderij Maashorst opens Netherlands’ first salmon farm.
The Netherlands’ first salmon farm has opened in Uden, North Brabant, on the site of a former pig farm.
Zalmboerderij Maashorst, led by Rob Dortmans, has converted former pig stables into a land-based facility designed to produce around 200 tonnes of salmon annually. The site is currently stocked with 73,000 fish, including 19,000 eggs sourced from Iceland, according to reports in local media.
The production cycle involves one year of indoor rearing to around 100 grams, followed by a year outdoors until the fish reach harvest size of about 4.5 kilograms. Processing will take place on site.
The project has received €1 million in subsidy support, including €850,000 from the European Union and €150,000 from the province of North Brabant. Operations are expected to reduce nitrogen emissions compared with the pig farm it replaces, while supplying salmon directly to the Dutch market.
From December 2025, the company plans to supply restaurants in the ’s-Hertogenbosch–Eindhoven–Nijmegen region, as well as selling directly from the farm.
