Marine farming billions disappearing from Norway

Half of the proceeds from the Norwegian fish farming industry are going out of the country, according to a new study. One-third of the industry has foreign ownership.

The study reveals that 36 percent of Norwegian production capacity in 2018 was owned by foreign players, up from 32 percent in 2015, E24 writes.

The UK has 12.7 percent ownership, the US 8.8 percent, and Cyprus 3.2 percent.

The study was done by Linda Nøstbakken and co-author Simon Flatebø Selle at the Norwegian School of Economics also shows that about half of the proceeds go out of the country.

For 2018, a total of NOK 13.2 billion was paid out. Of this, NOK 6.4 billion, or 48.4 percent, went abroad, the newspaper writes.

– “If you look at Mowi, for example, foreign ownership is 77 percent. When they pay out a significant share of the total dividend, it pulls up the average,” Selle explains.

Nøstbakken points out that it is not negative that foreign investors to invest in Norwegian fish farming.

– “This is what you dream of. It shows that you are successful, and the industry has done a lot right,” she says.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today