All three pools at Gigante Salmon are in use together for first time
Norwegian land-based fish farmer Gigante Salmon has been able to bring all three of its production basins and all raceway tanks inside them into operation simultaneously for the first time, it said in its third-quarter report today.
The company operates a flow-through facility on the island of Lille Indre Rosøy, located approximately two and half hours by boat from its HQ in Bodø, northern Norway, and targets an annual production capacity of up to 16,000 tonnes HOG (head on gutted).
It is still some distance from achieving that after encountering setbacks that included die-offs of more than 32,000 fish last Christmas due to a power outage, and 14,000 fish in April due to “human error”.
In May, Gigante reduced its 2027 harvest guidance from 10,600 tonnes to 8,000-8,500 tonnes due to higher mortality than previously assumed in the 2025 generation. This was partly the result of approximately 1.0 million fish being stocked as late as November 2024, which led to significant challenges related to winter wounds.
Fish barriers
In the summer this year Gigante made adjustments to fish barriers in the longitudinal stream sections to improve fish health and sludge collection, but encountered unexpected problems. Fish concentrated in parts of the longitudinal flow basins, resulting in higher density for the fish, challenges with oxygen conditions, appetite and feeding, as well as mechanical damage and fish in closed areas. This contributed to lower average weight and lower superior share for the H2025 generation.
No fish were harvested for sale in Q3 as the company focused on biomass growth and improvements. Standing biomass at the end of the quarter was approximately 3,900 tonnes divided between the H2025 and H2026 generations. The biomass forms the basis for planned harvesting from the fourth quarter of 2026 and onwards through the first half of 2027.
Learning and maturation
“Gigante Salmon is currently in a phase of learning and maturation, where insights gained from previous production cycles are being translated into improved biological outcomes, greater operational efficiency, and enhanced competitiveness,” wrote chief executive Kristian Lorentsen.
Changes to the fish barriers have been partially reversed and operationally improved, Gigante reported today. Preliminary results related to sludge management and particle removal are encouraging, and the measures will continue to be monitored through measurements and documentation.
However, previously lost feeding time and suboptimal feeding cannot be fully recovered later in the production cycle, said Gigante. This is expected to affect harvest weights during the current quarter.
Poultry meal and oil
An agreement with feed manufacturer Skretting has been extended until summer 2027, and a new agreement with feed company EWOS has been signed through summer 2028, to reduce Gigante’s exposure to scarcity and price increases for marine ingredients through the developing super-El Niño. Gigante has also allowed the use of poultry meal and poultry oil as feed ingredients to reduce risk.
Gigante will also stock its smolts earlier in the year.
“Historically, we have released fish in September, October, November and even later. However, we will learn from what has happened in the past, and are therefore changing our strategy,” Lorentsen said during the presentation of the Q3 results.
“We will not have such late smolt releases in the future. We do not want to take the biological risk, and we are now choosing summer releases instead. This will be implemented during 2027.”
Gigante Salmon harvested 1,584 tonnes HOG with a superior share of 74% in the first half of this year. Cost of production, including finance, was NOK 94 per kilo, NOK 23 more than the realised price of NOK 71/kg.
The company made operating losses of NOK 1.36 million in Q3 and NOK 12m (ÂŁ0.95m) for the first nine months of 2026.