Suspicion of PD on farming site in Troms

There is a suspicion of PD in one net pen on a farming site at Finnvika in Tromsø. The site is owned by SalMar Nord AS, a 100% owned subsidiary of SalMar ASA.
 
On the net pen in question there are about 270 000 individuals with an average weight of approx. 230 grams with a production value of approx. NOK 4 million. The fish in this net pen will be destroyed immediately if the suspicion is verified.
On the site as a whole there are a total of 2 million individuals with an average weight of approx. 300 grams. The production value of the fish is approx. 30 million. The site is planned to be harvested in 2013.
 
The company will now enter into a dialogue with the Norwegian Food Safety Authority to consider appropriate measures. The company will also take samples from all net pens at the farming site holding the questioned net pen. This to determine whether the PD virus is present in more net pens on the site, as well as determining what type of the PD virus that may be involved.

Various measures will be considered if the suspicion is confirmed, but to compensate for any effects of such measures the company may choose to increase the average weight of the remaining biomass in the region. As a result the total harvest volume for the company in 2012 and 2013 will not be significantly affected by any possible measures related to a confirmed suspicion.
 
For more information
Head of Farming Bjørn Larsen - mob: + 47 913 22 707
Veterinary Arnfinn Aunsmo - mob: + 47 480 83 021