Great Northern Salmon signs RAS supply contract with AKVA Group
Great Northern Salmon (GNS), which plans a 7,500-tonne recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) fish farm in Millinocket in the US state of Maine, has signed an agreement with AKVA Group to become its technology partner.
In December, GNS announced that it has ditched Norwegian company Eyvi as its RAS supplier in favour of “someone we are confident is the best match for GNS”, but didn’t name the company it had chosen.
In a press release today, GNS said it had maintained strong relationships with AKVA Group over the years, and the parties were aligned on design priorities.
'The best fit'
“After a thorough evaluation of several vendors, AKVA Group emerged as the best fit for GNS’s needs. AKVA Group is the leading global vendor in our industry with extensive experience in design and delivery. They have completed multiple successful international reference projects, including Nordic Aqua Partners in China. AKVA delivered its first design work to GNS in 2025.”
This is the second time is has switched to a new vendor.
In May 2024, Katahdin Salmon, as GNS was then known, named Norwegian RAS specialist Nofitech as its supplier.
But in April 2025 GNS said it had entered a strategic partnership with Eyvi, making it the RAS supplier for Millinocket and future GNS projects.
Sales agreement
GNS has also announced a six-year sales agreement with Stavis Seafoods for its upcoming production.
“The relationship with Stavis Seafoods began two years ago with an LOI (Letter of Intent) and has now been upgraded to a binding offtake agreement, with import costs to Boston serving as the pricing benchmark. This price position gives GNS strong margin advantages over imported fresh salmon, even without a price premium,” the company said.
Other recent agreements include a contract with Morgan Stanley for capital-raising and advisory services.
“Morgan Stanley is a valuable addition to our capital-raising partnerships with Pareto Securities and IFG Asset Management,” said GNS.
Specialised experience
The fish farmer has also signed a construction management contract with PC Construction, which has chosen SMRT as its architect and engineering partner.
“We have collaborated with both for years, and both have developed specialised experience in the aquaculture and water treatment sectors,” stated GNS.
The company’s chief executive, Marianne Naess, said: “We have built these relationships and others over time to achieve strong alignment on goals, collaboration, and shared interest in developing aquaculture in Maine. Additional partners also deserve credit, and more will be formalised in 2026, all part of building strong and resilient execution capabilities beyond our own team.”
Great Northern Salmon’s site is on the bed of a drained lagoon that was used by a former paper mill. The mill site is now part of the One North industrial park. In December, GNS said it has completed 80% its site preparation and has an open path to construction. The company said that in 2026, it is undergoing two major capital raises, and that a debt agreement for construction was being finalised with a central US bank.
