KIME Akva aims to be fully integrated throughout the value chain, from roe to harvest. We have acquired a majority stake in Tomma Settefisk AS in Nesna, now renamed KIME Akva Tomma AS. The facility has been approved for a species shift from cleaner fish to cod, and capacity is being expanded to enable annual production of up to six million cod smolt.
We also have access to a smolt production facility at Rubbestad in Senja until 2026, while the expansion at Tomma is being completed. This secures our own supply of smolt for stocking, providing flexibility in release size throughout the year and across locations, as well as high fish quality, lower costs, and strengthened performance in the seawater phase.
The production of smolt depends on having a stable and predictable supply of fry.
Cod as a species has a different reproductive strategy compared to salmon. While wild salmon typically have a much higher survival rate in their offspring, a wild female cod will normally produce only 1–3 individuals that survive to adult size.
The production of smolt depends on having a stable and predictable supply of fry. Cod as a species has a different reproductive strategy compared to salmon. While wild salmon typically have a much higher survival rate in their offspring, a wild female cod will normally produce only 1–3 individuals that survive to adult size.
Even under controlled tank conditions where we manage all key parameters, cod fry naturally have weaker survival prospects during the first weeks after hatch. This is due to their small yolk sack, which is quickly depleted before feeding begins, and the fact that the fry are blind and lack an immune system at this stage.
The complexity of this early life phase requires well-established protocols to ensure that as many fry as possible start feeding and survive. For this reason, KIME Akva operates a two-tier smolt value chain. We receive both internally produced fry from our collaboration with Akvaplan-niva in Tromsø, based on roe from the national breeding program at Nofima, as well as fry supplied by Havland in Florø. Once the fry are weaned onto dry feed – typically at around 2 grams – they are transferred to Tomma and Rubbestad for further growth.
Akvaplan-niva’s FISK facility at Kraknes in Tromsø
Akvaplan-niva’s FISK facility at Kraknes in Tromsø.
