After just over 12 months of construction, Benchmark’s new facility, SalmoBreed Salten, has officially opened. The company said that the site is the most advanced land-based facility for the production of salmon eggs in the world. It is located in Sørfold in Northern Norway.

SalmoBreed Salten has the capacity to produce 150 million eggs annually, which is the equivalent of approximately half a million tons of harvested salmon. Malcolm Pye, CEO of Benchmark, said that quality, not just quantity, would be the defining feature of the facility’s production – quality guaranteed by both the equipment and the team that the company has assembled.

“The opening of our new facility in Salten is a very important milestone for Benchmark which will allow us to capitalize on our leading market position in salmon genetics and the favorable long-term market trends in the industry,” said Jan-Emil Johannessen, Head of Benchmark Genetics.

The company said that producing on land means they are in complete control of the spawning season and thereby, able to supply their customers with high-quality salmon eggs every week of the year, produced in an environment with the highest standards of biosecurity.