Gaia Salmon goes bust
The Norwegian land-based fish farmer has filed for bankruptcy and the company's CEO says managers have not found a financing solution that could save operations.
According to IntraFish, Gaia Salmon was due to go bankrupt today if the company didn't receive fresh funds before 2pm CET.
Gaia Salmon chief executive Trine Sæther Romuld confirmed to LandbasedAQ's Norwegian site that the company filed for bankruptcy last night.
"We have faced greater challenges than we were able to solve, both in terms of achieving good enough operations and landing a financing solution that allows the company to continue operating. Our post-smolt facility has struggled with production, and we have worked hard on improvement measures," said Romuld.
She described the situation as "really sad".
"Despite great effort and consideration of various alternatives, we were unable to establish a sustainable path forward. We have worked hard to raise new capital, but it was not possible."
Had to pay compensation
In February of this year, Oslo District Court ordered Gaia Salmon to pay NOK 75 million in compensation to contractors Eyvi AS and Total Betong AS in a dispute concerning an alleged breach of an exclusivity clause related to the development of Gaia's land-based fish farming facility in the municipality of Træna, an archipelago 40 miles from the Norwegian coast.
The company initially planned to produce between 8,000 and 10,000 tonnes of post-smolts weighing up to 800 grams annually, as a first step towards annual production of 50,000 tonnes of food fish (head on gutted) within 10 years .
