Ocean-farmed salmon, invented in Norway in the early 1970s, is a relatively modern creation by our own standards.
Our seafaring and fishing traditions date back thousands of years. The passion and knowledge our people have built up over generations gave us the foundation to innovate and begin farming the ocean.
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To understand how ocean-farmed salmon became the booming industry that it is today, we need to look at the pioneers who paved the way.
There are now several hundred salmon farms along our coastline, where the cold temperature and steady sea currents provide the best living conditions for the fish to thrive.
These are the brave men and women who (in the shadow of the first Norwegian oil rigs) created a second industrial fairytale: Norwegian aquaculture
SALMON FARMING PIONEERS
In 1959, Danish freshwater farms devoted to growing small rainbow trout inspired brothers Karsten and Olav Vik, an architect and a gardener respectively, to try their hand at a farm of their own.
The two farmed their rainbow trout in floating wooden crates and found that the fish could be gradually acclimated to seawater.
THE BEGINNING
THE NEXT GENERATION
A generation later, in 1962, Professor Harald Skjervold at the Norwegian Agricultural University established a breeding station.
He was granted permission to catch breeding salmon from 41 different rivers and set up Norway’s first salmon breeding program.
Skjervold and another scholar, Professor Trygve Gjedrem gave Norway its reputation for cultivating the world’s oldest and most refined breeding material for salmon and trout.
The first documented salmon farm was built on the island of Hitra in 1970. The breakthrough came when Ove and Sivert Grøntvedt set out octagonal cages containing 20,000 salmon smolt in Laksåvika on the island.
Hitra is now seen as the world’s first successful salmon fish farm. That year the Grøntvedt brothers made a profit from their farm and the modern day industry was born.
Aquaculture methods in Norway have developed at a rapid pace over the nearly 40 years since large-scale farming began.
To become the world leader in aquaculture, we have created a framework that combines strict health regulations, close safety monitoring and continuous work to develop the industry.
This includes the $18m+ that fish farmers set aside annually to fund research and development, as well as state investments.
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TODAY
Our biggest asset still remains our excellent natural conditions. Norway’s vast sea areas and more than 51,500 miles of coastline mean that we can farm our salmon all year round in our cold, crystal-clear protected waters.
To date, salmon farming generates 22,700 Norwegian jobs, fish delivered to 100 countries around the world and 12 million meals per day.
We can only do all this because our industry, government and science sector all work together.
Our industry also has a long history at the heart of our community – aquaculture supports lots of businesses that are the cornerstones of many coastal communities.
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And it all started in 1959, with two pioneering brothers.
