Abandoned village houses. Flaking paint. Overgrown fields. More and more young people are dazzled by the lights of the big cities and leave the small village they grew up in. This has been the case for many decades. But on a small island, far out in the gap of the sea on the Nordland coast, they have managed something improbable. Young people move to the island. And they stay. The average age here is 34 years. The same as at Grünerløkka in Oslo. But is it a tax that will topple the district utopia? Cappuccino and golf The island is a good ferry ride from the mainland – roughly in the middle of Norway. Neighbor to the far more famous island of Træna, known for its annual music festival. The name is Lovund. At first glance, Lovund looks like the fishing village it once was. Red boathouse, dramatic nature and one convenience store. But it doesn’t take long before you discover that something is different. Between islets and the open sea, surrounded by bird cliffs and fish cages, there live 520 people. More than twice as many as in the 70s. Along the edge of the wharf are ready-to-move-in architect-designed houses clad in ore pine – with associated electric car poles. And there is no shortage of things to invent. Here you can do golf, dance, football, choir, strength training, squash, among other things. You can drink a cappuccino at the island’s own coffee roaster or have a drink at one of the island’s two bars. Not many golf courses can boast such a great view! Here you shoot the balls straight into the sea. But relax; they are made from fish feed. Photo: Marte Fossen One of those who has chosen a life out here is Marte Solheim Fossen (25). Now she clicks her way through rows on an Excell sheet. The blonde hair hangs loosely over the suit jacket and the make-up is on fleek. She is as if taken out of a BI catalogue, where she sits cross-legged on the office chair. But this is a long way from Oslo Business School. There are no trams here. Outside the window, large boats go in and out of the harbour. Trailers with tons of salmon start their engines in unison in the ferry queue. – I had heard a lot of good things about Lovund, but when I came here for an interview, I was saved. – There is so much going on here, almost as much as when I studied, says Marte, who is originally from Ørnes. Photo: Dina Jeanette Danielsen / news When Marte drives from work in her silver-grey Ford Mondeo, she says “have it” to the people in the office, only to meet them five minutes later at Joker’n. It is long since dark outside. The mountain that sticks up like a witch’s hat behind the shop has had its annual Christmas lighting. There is a white layer of frost on the ground. But despite the winter storms knocking on the door, there is no place she would rather be. Not even Australia, Ireland or Bodø, where she has previously lived, tempts. In order to build a career, she has chosen to live at Lovund. Fossen has a bachelor’s degree in aquaculture operations and management, as well as a diploma in aquaculture. Being a “business trainee” means that she gets to work in all of Nova Sea’s departments over the course of two years, to see where she thrives best. Photo: Private Marte is educated in aquaculture, or aquaculture, as it is called, and works in the cornerstone company Nova Sea. They are known for juicy bonuses. Each year they distribute up to NOK 200,000 to all 340 employees. For so long, anyway. Because starting in the new year, a new salmon tax could eat up a significant part of the profits of companies like the one Marte works in. Now several people fear that it will have consequences for the unique society on the island. District utopia First there was a pandemic, then war in Europe. Nevertheless, things have gone very well with the red fish. Above all expectations, actually. But recently came the government’s proposal on ground rent tax. Basic rent tax means, simply explained, that some of the companies that make the most money from salmon must pay a “rent” to the state to borrow the sea. Facts about ground rent tax * Ground rent tax is paid from income you get by exploiting the community’s natural resources, such as water, wind and sea. Comes from the English expression “ground rent”, i.e. ground rent or land rent. * When a wind farm has been set up in a mountain area or a salmon farm has been built in a fjord, the area is not freely accessible to others. Access to natural resources is limited, and this limits competition. This makes it easier to get extraordinarily high incomes in industries that utilize natural resources. * Basic interest tax must be paid on income the companies receive in excess of what they can normally expect from their own investments and work effort, as a result of this benefit. Basic interest tax is also called super profit. * Today there is a basic rent tax on hydropower and oil production, and the government will introduce this on wind power and salmon farming. Source: NTB The seafood industry fears the tax will have major consequences for coastal Norway. That work passes, activity offers and opportunities disappear. That the young people will again choose to go to the cities. And it’s not just senior managers who worry. Several people ask: Is it safe to invest in a home out in no man’s land now? When the circle training was canceled due to maintenance in the hall, a group of young women in the village organized a knitting evening. There they discuss big and small. Photo: Synnøve Sundby Fallmyr / news Lisa Yvonne Mele (29) has a master’s degree in social anthropology and works as an HR advisor at Nova Sea. Photo: Synnøve Sundby Fallmyr / news – The concerns that optimism and development will reverse are completely real among everyone who has invested in living here, and who may be considering investing more by buying a home here. That’s what Lisa Yvonne Mele (29) from Ålesund says. She works with HR at Nova Sea and has lived on the island with her partner for two years. She boasts about the togetherness and optimism here. Of those who stand on the quay and wave your house keys, if you’re new. Now she is still in the thinking box. Will there be a third year? More than 1,000 salmon workers have recently received layoff notices. And at Nova Sea, 18 workers at the fillet factory will lose their jobs over the New Year. These lay off employees: Lerøy Aurora AS, Skjervøy, 158 employees laid off Lerøy Midt AS, two plants at Hitra, 125 employees laid off Lerøy Fossen AS, Osterøy, 56 employees laid off Salmar announces the layoff of 748 employees at Innovamar on Frøya. And 103 employees at Innovanor in Senja. Date: November 2022 Those who believe the tax is not a threat to the population along the coast point to a powerful industry that is trying to pressure the government to put jobs at risk. Layoffs are not uncommon in the industry. It takes around two hours by ferry to the mainland from Lovund. Photo: Synnøve Sundby Fallmyr / news Millionærøya It’s no secret that salmon, the red fish from Norway, is a large part of the explanation for why so many young people move to Lovund. Salmon means jobs and good money. Not since the Second World War have more people worked in the aquaculture industry. Daniel Kristoffer Johansen (23) is one of them. Daniel Kristoffer Johansen grew up in Lovund, but lived in Mo i Rana for six years before he moved home. Photo: Dina Jeanette Danielsen / news He works as a smoker at Lovundlaks, the second large farming company on the island. Lovund is often called the “millionaire’s island” in the big cities, and there are many rumors about those who live and work here. – I am called a salmon baron on the mainland, just because I work with salmon. Four kilometers away, Daniel grins as he revs the engine of his white BMW. – It is not the horses that are important, but the sound, he says. Cars are his great passion. A passion that is far from free. The rims alone cost NOK 150,000, and are decorated with 35 gold bolts. At the same time, Daniel is a father and cohabitant. And even though he has neither a vocational certificate nor higher education, he earns more than enough for both. For example, he recently bought his fourth car. A Chevrolet Starcraft. Daniel proudly shows off the rims on his BMW, which he has spent countless hours polishing. Photo: Synnøve Sundby Fallmyr / news Now he has one car for every kilometer of road on the island. Next project? Build a house. A very large investment on a small island. – Are you worried that you won’t be able to sell the house afterwards for as much as it cost to build? – I can’t imagine selling… Amalie Sandøy Larsen (21), Marie Alexandra (1 year) and Daniel Kristoffer Johansen (23) live in Lovund. And here they will stay. Photo: Dina Jeanette Danielsen / news Daniel does not think the development will stop anytime soon, and feels safe in his workplace. Even after the new tax was proposed. – As long as I have lived, there has been good development here. But the salmon adventure began long before the 23-year-old was born. And it was many decades of toil before the profits began to flow in. Arrived by seaplane The first fish to be released into a cage in northern Norway were at Lovund in 1972. They arrived packed in plastic bags, on board a seaplane. Most of the fish died on the first night. But Frøya and Hitra in Trønderlag were three or four years earlier by releasing salmon, and showed the northerners that it was possible. Farming pioneers The two pioneers Steinar Olaisen and Hans Petter Meland were both teachers at the school at a time when the village was struggling with emigration. They each formed their own company, and created jobs on the island. Today, it is their children who run “Nova Sea” and “Lovundlaks” respectively. The two most important companies on the island. A few salmon survived A few fish survived after a couple of years in the homemade cage. And that was the start of a lot of trial and error to make salmon farming the industry it is today. – There are some which is such that they want to get things done, and the two of them were like that, says Bjørnar Olaisen (79), brother of Steinar Olaisen. There is a will to get things done at Lovund, a drive and a sense of pride in having managed it – in spite of that, says Olaisen. – Not feeling well On the other side of the island, Marte sits on the windowsill at home. From the panoramic windows in the funky home she rents, she can see a glimpse of the office. But most of all, she has a view of the ocean. – Then I think I’ve ended up right. But sometimes I think that it’s a bit strange that we live here in the middle of the sea gap, and that there is so much life out here? She has loved the sea since she was little. She likes everything about it. The salty smell. How the moonlight glistens on the tops of the waves when it is dark and the weather is clear. The sense of endless possibilities. When she gets a little older, she wants to buy a house. Preferably even closer to the sea than today. Several young people have set their sights on the island. Marte is one of them. Photo: Dina Jeanette Danielsen / news – I think that if I find out that I will stay here, then it is a natural step in adulthood. But now the question is asked. – There is no doubt that it is more uncertain now than in the past. You keep reading about the layoff notices that come every day. It doesn’t feel good. What will be the final proposal from the government will be clear after the New Year. Read more about ground rent tax here:
ttn-69
“Everyone” wants to live in Lovund, but the ground rent tax puts it at risk – Nordland
