Complaints about the State Manager's rejection of land-based investment
Complaints about the State Manager's rejection of land-based investment
Helgeland Miljøfisk's plans for land-based fish farming on Toftøya remain unchanged, even though the County Governor of Nordland has rejected the application to grant a licence.
On Monday, the County Governor of Nordland announced that they are rejecting the application for a licence under the Pollution Control Act for land-based aquaculture at Toftøya outside Brønnøysund.
The application has been on the State Administrator's desk for almost three years.
- "It's disappointing to receive a rejection of something we've worked so hard on and put so much effort into. The rejection is also incomprehensible given the signals we have received along the way. A year ago, we received a written message from the State Administrator in Nordland that they had signed a licence," says CEO Sten Roald Lorentzen of Helgeland Miljøfisk.
Will answer out
The state administrator's rejection of the land-based venture comes just a few weeks after the Norwegian Food Safety Authority rejected the major investment in land-based fish farming at Toftøya in Helgeland, where the plan is to produce up to 40,000 tonnes of fish a year and create between 100 and 300 jobs.
Before the weekend, Helgeland Miljøfisk submitted a complaint to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority about their rejection.
- We believe we have answered everything the Norwegian Food Safety Authority based its rejection on. We are now embarking on the same exercise with the State Administrator. It's important to emphasise that our plans for a land-based facility at Toftøya remain unchanged, even though things are taking longer than we had hoped and believed," says Lorentzen.
Getting it right
In order for Nordland county council to issue a licence for land-based fish farming on Toftøya, both the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and the State Administrator must have granted permission. Sten Roald Lorentzen is quite clear that this is where they are going.
- "The project is big and important for many people, not least for the Brønnøy community and for Helgeland. I'm absolutely certain that we'll achieve this together," says CEO Sten Roald Lorentzen of Helgeland Miljøfisk.
Facts:
Helgeland Miljøfisk is owned by Aquaculture Innovation, which in turn is owned by Torghatten Aqua. The companies are headquartered at Toft in Brønnøysund.
Contact information:
Managing Director of Helgeland Miljøfisk and Aquaculture Innovation: Sten Roald Lorentzen.sten.lorentzen@aquacultureinnovation.no Tel: 911 99 321.
Director of Investor Relations and Communication in Torghatten Aqua: Stig Tore Laugen, stig.tore.laugen@torghattenaqua.no Tel: 916 00 217.
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