– I actually worked in Svolvær at the fish farm there, but when Erling found out he was going to Finnmark, I just had to join, says Kristina Kacerauskaite from Lithuania and laughs. The 36-year-old is site manager at Havøysund fisk AS, which was established in 2022. Then Lofotværing Erling Santi Falch, together with Ted Robin Endresen from Myre and Roy Arne Pettersen from Skjervøy, bought the fish farm from Hermann Pettersen. Wants year-round operation The reason why fish buyers are looking towards Finnmark is the fear of climate change and warmer seas, which could affect the migration of fish. – The fish have changed their pattern, and then we have followed. So we are a bit like climate refugees, says Erling Santi Falch and laughs. Erling Santi Falch at the fish farm in Havøysund AS. Photo: Hanne Larsen / news The 55-year-old is a sixth-generation fish buyer from Lofoten. Now he stands on a slimy stone floor in a fishing hall in Havøysund. The smell of fish tears your nose, but as they say on the coast: “It doesn’t smell like fish, it smells like money.” – Before we produced six months in Lofoten, now we can only produce three months. Up here, we can have almost year-round operation, he says. Through his company Svolvær fisk AS, Falch owns a number of fish farms in northern Norway. The largest is Saga fish, which last year had a turnover of 330 million. The employees at the fish farm Havøysund fisk AS in Finnmark come from all over the world. Photo: Hanne Larsen / news In order to ensure access to raw material throughout large parts of the year, and thereby increase profitability, Falch and the companies have set their course for Finnmark. And they are not alone. Finnmark stands out Along the entire coast of Finnmark, in the last twenty years, companies have popped up that previously had addresses further south. One example goes all the way back to 2009, when the Tufjord farm was established in Måsøy, precisely on the basis of what the owners believed to be climate change. Audun Iversen, researcher at Nofima, confirms that many companies have moved north. – In 2003, Finnmark’s share of the country’s whitefish and crab was 22 per cent. In recent years, it has been between 35 and 40 per cent, says Iversen. He says that Finnmark, and not least Eastern Finnmark, stands out from the rest of the country, with a more positive development in both fisheries and industry. – Here, the number of fishermen has increased sharply in the last ten years, partly because king crab has been added to cod, haddock and pollock, says Iversen. Audun Iversen, researcher Nofima. Photo: Dan Henrik Klausen / news He believes that something may be due to the climate, but it may also be a matter of natural variations. Another thing is that customers increasingly want fresh fish all year round. – With short seasons in Lofoten and Vesterålen, it becomes more attractive to run industry in Finnmark, where fresh fish is landed for most of the year. Another reason for Westerners to establish themselves in the north is that there is no longer North Sea cod to be had further south. It has almost been fished out, he says. Maria Fossheim is a researcher at the Institute of Marine Research. She confirms that the cod has moved north. – The adult population has spread throughout the Barents Sea and is now utilizing the ice-free areas, which are larger than before, says Fossheim. Maria Fossheim, Institute of Marine Research Photo: Erlend Astad Lorentzen Changes have also occurred when it comes to the spawning stock of the skrei, which migrates between the Barents Sea and the coast of northern Norway. – It used to go all the way to Lindesnes, but now it doesn’t go much further south than Helgeland. So the spawning area moves. But the main spawning area is still Lofoten, says Fossheim. Set table At the fish farm in Havøysund, general manager Erling Santi Falch walks around and sniffs at pieces of dry fish. Dried and salted cod, better known as rockfish, which will soon find its way to a dinner table in Portugal or Nigeria. Rockfish is the main ingredient in bacalao, and here in little Havøysund with its 900 inhabitants, 70 people are working hard to supply the market. Although it has been enough to keep track of after they took over, Falch admits that they came to a full table when they bought the fish farm of 87-year-old Hermann Pettersen. A legend in the northern Norwegian fishing industry, according to Falch. Hermann Pettersen (left) is a legend within the northern Norwegian fishing industry, according to Erling Santi Falch. Here he takes a look at Falch’s cuttlefish. Photo: Hanne Larsen / news Coincidentally, Pettersen is in Havøysund collecting his moving load on this day. Before the trip returns to Tromsø, where he will spend his retired life, he goes beyond the fish farm. – I think it will go well. But I am skeptical that the owners are not permanent residents, says Pettersen. He himself is from Bø in Vesterålen, but has lived for 20 years in Havøysund, where he established a fish farm after he had reached retirement age. Along with the load, Falch understands Pettersen’s skepticism, but believes he knows what he is doing. Much of Falch’s optimism rests on the shoulders of Kristina Kacerauskaite. Kristina Kacerauskaite and Erling Santi Falch agree on details of the production. Photo: Hanne Larsen / news As site manager, she is an invaluable resource for Falch, who herself is only occasionally present at the mill. Kacerauskaite has joined the team from Svolvær, where she previously worked for Falch. She has her husband and five-year-old daughter with her. – I like the tranquility here – and the people. My daughter is also very happy. She goes to kindergarten and has many friends. She speaks better Norwegian now than Lithuanian, says Kacerauskaite. Kristina Kacerauskaite is site manager at Havøysund fish. The Lithuanian thrives in Norway and has worked in Lofoten before coming to Finnmark in 2022. Photo: Hanne Larsen / news Havøysund has a hilly landscape with green crags, and is surrounded by the sea on all sides. In summer it is paradise on earth, but in winter the village can be isolated due to blizzards and landslides. So far, the forces of nature do not frighten the Lithuanian, who is well used to conditions in northern Norway. – If I like nature? Yes, but I came from Svolvær. The nature there was fifty percent better, says Kacerauskaite with a laugh, before adding: – But it’s very nice here too. I think I will stay here. Kristina Kacerauskaite is site manager and is enjoying herself so far in the coastal village at 70 degrees north. Photo: Hanne Larsen / news More permanent residents in Finnmark Over 50 per cent of all those working in the fishing industry in Norway are foreigners. The fact that the industry does not attract more Norwegians can have several reasons, believes Nofima researcher Iversen. One is that, to a greater extent than before, Norwegian youth are studying and choosing other professions. – Does it need to be negative with many foreigners in the fishing industry? – No, and there are important differences in foreign labour, says the researcher. At the fish farm Havøysund fisk AS in Havøysund in Finnmark, cuttlefish production is in full swing. Photo: Hanne Larsen / news He explains that in Troms and Vesterålen, for example, the foreigners are largely seasonal workers. They come for a period of a few months, and are not integrated much into the local community. In Finnmark, a different trend is seen, because fishing provides year-round jobs in the industry. – If you talk to foreigners along the coast of Finnmark, they are often people with year-round jobs. People who live here permanently, have children in kindergarten and school, and who become part of the local community, says Iversen. Unsnobbish premises Someone who is neither a foreigner nor a permanent resident is Kai Freddy Evensen from Vesterålen. He is Falch’s jack of all trades and an important piece in the start-up of the company in Havøysund. – Here is the brewery office, says Evensen, and reaches out with his arms inside a small office 3 by 3 metres. Kai Freddy Evensen (th) is project manager and all-rounder for general manager Erling Santi Falch at Havøysund fisk AS. Photo: Hanne Larsen / news Inside the small room, he has managed to squeeze six PC monitors, which are fighting for space with a fire extinguisher, microwave, kettle and instant coffee. – We operate on small margins, and then we cannot be so big on it when it comes to office facilities, says Evensen. The sun shines in through the window, and on the outside it is around twenty meters to the quayside, where the fish sellers clap their hands when they sell their catch. From this small room, most of the small and large challenges connected with daily operations are managed. Kai Freddy Evensen doesn’t have the world’s fanciest office, but it works just fine, if we’re to believe the westerner. Photo: Hanne Larsen / news The bosses have their offices further up the floors, but they are hardly used compared to the brewing office, we are to believe Evensen. – All the fishermen come here and have a cup of coffee and have a chat. Now electronic signing has made it a little less important to come into the office to sell the fish, but the older generation still likes to come in, he says. The mayor banka at Evensen has been involved in many projects in various municipalities. Nowhere has he felt as welcome as in Måsøy, he says. – It is actually the only place where the mayor has knocked on the door and asked if there is anything the municipality can help with. For a small company like ours, it is of great importance that we have the local community behind us, says Evensen. Mayor of Måsøy municipality, Bernth Sjursen, believes that it is a matter of course to make arrangements for people to establish themselves in the municipality. Mayor of Måsøy municipality, Bernth Sjursen, believes it is a matter of course to be on the supply side for people who want to create something in the municipality. Photo: Hanne Larsen / news He is very happy that more fishing companies are looking towards Finnmark. – We have had stakeholders who have looked for areas where fish farms can be built, so that they move north at the same time as the fish is very positive, says Sjursen. For Erling Santi Falch, it is rewarding to help keep a local community alive. At the same time, it is the desire to create that is the driving force. He believes that if you just do the right things, there are opportunities. – What is needed is that you are positive and dare to bet. To reverse the somewhat negative thinking that has been there. So we keep our spirits up and will not give up, says Falch. Erling Santi Falch is a sixth-generation fish buyer from Svolvær. Now he has turned his snout north. Photo: Hanne Larsen / news
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Fish buyers follow the skrei to Finnmark – news Troms and Finnmark
