Passion for Salmon

Click the numbers to see more info

1. Feed

Feed is a key part of SalMar’s upstream value chain. Fish health, growth and overall performance are all highly dependent on the right feed. Our feed combines marine and vegetable raw materials, as well as important vitamins and minerals necessary to support healthy salmon. SalMar solely use feed that is certified as deforestation and conversion-free by an accredited third party.

Want to learn more about our feed? Read more in our Annual Report (page 60).

2. Packaging

Packaging is necessary to ensure that our salmon is fresh, has a high quality, and is safe to eat when it arrives at the end customer. Packaging safeguards the product during transport and storage by maintaining low temperatures and limiting exposure to air, light and physical handling. This preserves key quality attributes such as texture, colour, and shelf life, ensuring the salmon reaches the market in optimal condition.

3. Broodstock

Broodstock are the parent fish that provides the eggs and sperm (milt) required to produce new generations of salmon, representing the starting point of our integrated value chain. Careful selection and management of broodstock are essential to ensure strong genetics, fish health, and consistent quality. This forms the biological foundation for robust growth, high survival rates, and predictable performance throughout the production cycle.

4. Smolt

Roes develop in incubators before hatching into fry, which initially rely on their yolk sac for nutrition. Once ready, they are transferred to tanks for feeding and growth under controlled conditions. As they mature, the fry is sorted, vaccinated, and prepared for transfer to seawater. The transition to seawater, known as smoltification, involves key physiological changes that enable the fish to adapt to a marine environment.

5. Well-boat smolt

After 9-12 months, the smolt is transported by well-boats to the sea. The smolt is now ready to spend the remainder of their lives at sea and grow into adult salmon.

6. Growth at sea

At sea, SalMar employs a variety of farming technologies, including traditional open net pens, submerged, semi-closed, closed and exposed production systems. The most suitable farming system depends on the site’s lice pressure, water exchange rates, wave and current forces, upwelling patterns and much more. During this phase, the salmon are regularly sorted to ensure optimal development and uniform growth.

7. Well-boat salmon

About a year after transfer to sea, the salmon are ready for harvest. The salmon are then transported live by well-boats to the processing plant. The fish are placed into holding pens outside the processing facility to relax, before being pumped into the processing plant.

8. Processing

In our processing facilities, the salmon are stunned, killed and bled out using high-tech equipment, and always in accordance with applicable regulations. After slaughter the salmon is subject to various degrees of processing. A significant percentage of the harvest goes on to local secondary processing where the salmon is made into ready-to-eat filets, portions and loins before being sent to customers and consumers around the world.

9. Research & Development

Closing knowledge gaps in fish welfare and developing solutions to improve survival rates are key priorities for SalMar. We are actively engaged in a wide range of research and development projects aimed at enhancing fish health, welfare, and biosecurity while reducing aquaculture’s environmental impact.

We also collaborate with our feed supplier to explore novel ingredients, such as algae, insect meal, kelp, salmon oil, seafood trimmings, and surplus processing materials, that complement traditional inputs and support more sustainable, resource-efficient aquaculture.

10. Salmon Living Lab

SalMar has launched the Salmon Living Lab, an ambitious innovation and research initiative aimed at closing critical knowledge gaps in fish biology to improve fish health and welfare. The initiative brings together industry leaders, academic institutions, and NGOs to develop knowledge and address challenges that cannot be solved by individual players alone.

Read more about the Salmon Living Lab here.

11. Sales and logistics

Salmon is sold either as whole gutted salmon (fresh or frozen), fillets, in individual portions or as a wide range of other products and by-products, which are distributed to markets around the world. SalMar have sales offices in six different countries in Asia to ensure necessary proximity to central markets. In all, SalMar’s sales department distributes salmon to more than 50 different countries. Integrated logistics ensure that products are transported quickly and safely, maintaining freshness and quality throughout the global supply chain. SalMar ensures full traceability of its products from roe to plate.

12. Waste management

SalMar contributes towards circular economies by sending our production waste to companies who further process these substances into marine oils and pet food ingredients. This ensures that valuable marine nutrients are utilized rather than discarded. Organic waste at smolt facilities, such as from faeces and uneaten feed, is sent to biogas production.

13. Transportation

Salmon are distributed globally via airplanes, ships, trucks, and trains, ensuring delivery to markets worldwide. The mode of transport is selected based on flexibility, cost efficiency, logistical suitability and environmental impact. SalMar is working to increase its use of rail instead of road transport and sea freight instead of air freight in order to reduce its downstream carbon footprint.

14. Customer

SalMar supplies a broad customer base, including retailers, restaurants, and wholesalers, providing high-quality salmon products tailored to different market needs.

15. Consumer

Finally, salmon products reach the end consumer, completing the value chain and allowing consumers to enjoy fresh, safe, and sustainably produced salmon. Salmon is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, specifically EPA and DHA, as well as vitamin B12, vitamin D, selenium, and proteins, all of which provide significant benefits for both mental and physical health. Research has demonstrated that consuming oily fish, such as salmon, can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. The World Health Organization, along with numerous other reputable institutions, advocates for increased consumption of salmon as part of a healthy diet for all ages.