Seafood News - Industry Events - Seafood Market

NORWAY

Capital: Oslo
Population: 4.5 million
Monetary unit: 1 Krone (NOK) = 100 Ore
Major language: Norwegian
Major religion: Christianity
Life expectancy: 75 years (men), 81 years (women)
Main exports: Fuels and Fuel products, machinery, metal, ships and fish
Average annual income: US $33,650
International dialing code: +47
Internet domain: .no 

This bullet list is an exerpt from an excellent article describing the Norwegian fisheries situation:

• Norway has 6 times as large “blue field” as inland all together. This gives our country huge opportunities in the future – opportunities that we can’t even imagine today.
• Norway ranks as number 10 of the worlds largest fishing nations, with a production of approximately 3.3 million tons. Of this 2.7 million tons are from the fishing sector – our wild catch. And we farm 507.000 tons of Atlantic salmon and 70.000 tons of trout.
• A clear characteristic of the industry is its international orientation. Norway is exporting fish and fish products with a value exceeding 3.5 billion USD. 40% of the total export value or 1.4 billion USD arrives from our high value farmed salmon and trout.
• Norway export to over 150 countries. This makes us the 3rd largest export nation.
• More than 95 % of our production is exported. Without any export, every Norwegian would have had to eat 800 kilos of fish per year, or close to 2.5 kilos per day.
• The trade in seafood is our second largest export industry after oil and gas.
• The Government has put priority to our marine sector. Our vision is to develop an efficient, competitive, sustainable sector attracting a competent workforce. We expect the sector to contribute substantially to our economy in a 10 to 20 years perspective.

Norway is the biggest fisheries nation among the Nordic countries, in regards to employees, fishing- vessels, landed catches and turnover, as well as export value. Since around 1970 aquaculture has also grown to become a major industry, and Norway is at present the world´s leading producer of Atlantic salmon.

The Norwegian seafood export reached 30 billion NOK in 1999; fish caught in the wild represented 18 billion NOK, and farmed fish about 12 billion NOK. Eight out of ten fishing-vessels are shorter than ten meters, and these are engaged in coastal fisheries, where they primarily participate in the important seasonal fishing for cod, herring and other species.

The ocean-going fishing-vessels are mostly trawlers and purse seiners. In Norway about 40.000 people are engaged in fishing, fish processing and fish export. The number of employees in producing and delivering equipment and services to the fishing industry sums up to 45.000, with an additional 20.000 serving the aquaculture industry. All in all well over 100.000 people are directly or indirectly engaged in fisheries and aquaculture, and we expect a substantial growth in the Norwegian production of seafood in the upcoming decades, particularly in aquaculture. Some experts even predict that the value of seafood export will exceed the income from Norway´s oil and gas production.

FACTS ABOUT THE FISHING INDUSTRY IN NORWAY

THE FISHERIES
Fishermen
Total number of fishermen: 21.274
Fishing as main occupation: 15.326
Part time fishermen: 5.948
Fishing vessels
Total number of fishing vessels (1999): 13.199
Shorter than 11 m: 11.096
11 - 19,9 m: 1.441
20 - 29,9 m: 296
30 - 49,9 m: 253
Longer than 50 m: 113
Catch
Total catch (1996-1999): 2.600.000 - 2.860.000 tons
The most important species:
Cod: 257.000 - 402.000 tons
Herring: 760.000 - 920.000 tons
Saithe: 180.000 - 220.000 tons
Sandeel: 160.000 - 350.000 tons
Blue whiting: 320.000 - 570.000 tons
Usage (1998):
Human consumption 54 % -
animal feed, meal/oil 46 %
Fresh: 15.9 %
Frozen, mincemeat and roe: 27 %
Salted: 10 %
Meal/oil and animal feed: 46 %
Canned and dried: 1.1 %

Export value of seafood products
Total (1996 - 1999): 24 - 30 billion NOK
The most important species
Salmon and trout: 8,2 - 12 billion NOK
Cod: 5,5 - 6,4 billion NOK
Herring: 1,9 - 2,4 billion NOK
Mackerel: 2,0 - 2,2 billion NOK
Shrimp: 0,9 - 1,3 billion NOK
Fish export share of total export (value): 8,7 %
Number of employees
Fish processing industry (1997): 12.900
Fish trading (retail and wholesale): 3.250
Employees in related trades
Fishing gear and ships equipment: 1.900
AQUACULTURE
Total production (1996-1999): 320.000 - 458.000 tons
Salmon: 298.000 - 414.000 tons
Trout: 23.000 - 43.600 tons
Haliubut (1996-1998): 112 - 290 tons
Cod: 190 - 300 tons
Employees aquaculture: 3.490

For more information on seafood in Norway, we recommend the english section of the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs web site

free map of Norway from Statens Kartverk

Nortrade Official Norwegian trade portal and export directory

VisitNorway.com Official travel guide to Norway

Aetat.no Official / governmental employment services in Norway

UDI Norwegian Directorate of Immigration

ODIN Official Documentation and Information about Norway

Norge.no Public sector information and services on the Internet

8/23/2004

The most important organisations in Norwegian aquaculture

Norwegian Seafood Federation (FHL)
National federation of employers, which organises more than 600 member companies with more than 10,000 employees. FHL is affiliated with the Confederation of  Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO) and it looks after the interests of its members in the areas of:
• business politics
• pay and working conditions
• health, safety and environment.
FHL has its headquarters in Oslo. www.fhl.no 

FHL Aquaculture:
(formerly, the Norwegian Fish Farmers’ Association (NFF). Organisation for most people involved in Norwegian fish and shellfish farming. FHL Aquaculture takes care of the specific branch interests of its members and promotes their economic, professional, social and cultural interests. Its most important fields of activity are:
• industrial and commercial policy
• production and markets
• fish health
• environment and food safety
• coastal zone management
• research and development
• training and recruitment
• information and public opinion.
FHL Aquaculture’s headquarters are in Trondheim and the organisation has three regional associations: Southern and Western Norway; Mid-Norway and North Norway. www.fhl.no www.fiskeoppdrett.no

FHL Fishfeed:
formerly, the Norwegian Fish Feed Producers’ Association (FPF)
Organisation for all fish feed producers in Norway.
Tel: +47 23 08 87 05

FHL Industry and Exports:
Formerly, the Federation of Norwegian Fishing Industries (FNL). NHL Industry and Exports represents companies which process and export fish and other seafood products. The organisation’s member companies are responsible for a significant
proportion of the total added value in that part of the Norwegian fish industry that is based on white fish, shellfish, pelagic fish and marine mammals from traditional fisheries, as well as cultivated fish and shellfish. www.fnl.no

FHL Fishmeal:
formerly, the Norwegian Association of Herring-meal Producers (SL) is the organisation for Norwegian producers of herringmeal. Tel: +47 23 08 87 30

Norwegian Seafood Export Council (EFF)
EFF is the joint marketing body for the fishing and aquaculture industries. Its primary aim is to increase awareness of and interest in Norwegian seafood in Norway and throughout the world. The Council is financed by the industry
itself via a levy on exports of Norwegian seafood. www.seafood.no

Fishery and Aquaculture Industry Research Fund (FHF)
FHF is the funding system for research and development in the fisheries and aquaculture industries. It is financed via a research levy of 0.3% of the value of exports of fish and fish products. The industries’ own needs and interests form
the basis of its R & D priorities. The primary task of the Fund is to identify research problems that the industry is interested in having resolved, and to consider how best this can be done. The Research Council of Norway and the State Industrial and Regional Development Foundation (SND) are important partners. www.fiskerifond.no

Havbruksdata.no
Havbruksdata is a system for electronic information exchange in the aquaculture sector. Havbruksdata is a simplification of the system of reporting to the authorities and is a result of a cooperative project between FHL Aquaculture and the Ministry of Fisheries. This database also provides a better basis for decision-making processes. www.havbruksdata.no

Useful Internet addresses:
Aqua Gen: www.aquagen.no 
Bio toxin monitoring: www.snt.no/nytt/blaskjell, http://algeinfo.imr.no/ 
The Directorate for Nature Management: www.dirnat.no
The Directorate of Fisheries: www.fiskeridir.no 
FAO, Fisheries Deparetement: www.fao.org/fi/default.asp 
Fish health: www.fiskehelse.no 
Fishery and Aquaculture Industry Research Fund: www.fiskerifond.no 
The Food Portal: www.matportalen.no 
Institute of Aquaculture Research: www.akvaforsk.no 
Institute of Marine Research: www.imr.no 
Legislation: www.lovdata.no/for/sf/fi/krono.html 
The Ministry of Agriculture: www.odin.dep.no/ld 
The Ministry of the Environment: www.odin.dep.no/md 
The Ministry of Fisheries: www.odin.dep.no/fid 
National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research: www.nifes.no 
National Veterinary Institute: www.vetinst.no 
Norwegian Animal Health Authority: www.dyrehelsetilsynet.no 
The Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Board: www.bion.no

The Norwegian College of Fishery Science: www.nfh.uit.no 
The Norwegian Fishermen’s Association: www.fiskarlaget.no 
Norwegian Food Authority: www.mattilsynet.no 
Norwegian Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture: www.fiskforsk.norut.no 
Norwegian Institute for Water Research: www.niva.no 
Norwegian Pollution Control Authority: www.sft.no 
The Norwegian Seafood Export Council: www.seafood.no 
Norwegian Seafood Association: www.nsl.no 
Norwegian Seafood Center: www.sjomat.no 
Norwegian Seafood Federation: www.fhl.no 
Norwegian Suppliers for the Fish Farming Industry: www.nlth.org 
Oceanor, Oceanographic Company of Norway: www.oceanor.no 
The Research Council of Norway: www.forskningsradet.no 
Sintef Fisheries and Aquaculture Ltd: www.fish.sintef.no 

Fisheries and aquaculture related news:
www.netfisk.no 
www.havbruk.no
www.intrafish.no 
www.kyst.no 
www.norskfisk.no 
www.norskfiskeoppdrett.no 
www.skjellmagasinet.no
www.nafnett.com

11/2/2004