Our vision is to set the standard for the future of aquaculture. At a family-owned business with a long legacy it is important to us to operate in a way that will allow the next generation to continue the journey.
Eide Fjordbruk is not among the largest and will never be, but we can strive to be the best in many other aspects. This is what our vision is all about.
We want to lead and be an example for others to follow. We want to farm sustainable food in the sea the future and the generations to come.
We care about each other, our fish and the environment that we live and operate in. We have a strong passion for what we do and want to contribute actively to develop and improve our industry for the future.
We are also convinced that the future for salmon production in Norway is in the sea, and that it is our fjords and clean water that has been and will continue to be our primary competitive edge in a global competitive market.
At the same time, we recognize the challenges of open net pens and take them seriously, realizing that we need new solutions to tackle the problems caused by in particular the salmon lice.
We therefore want to invest in developing salmon farming in the sea using new technology and tools.
Knut Johan Eide was a major in the Norwegian military and was commonly know as “the major”. The journey from the home farm to the military in Bergen was long. The desire to create a livelihood closer to home was strong. However, the soil was poor so after several failed attempts he started farming rainbow trout in the nearby lake “Skogseidvatnet” in 1971. He later started producing Atlantic salmon in the same lake, a business that continues today. The main office of Eide is also located here by the lake today.
Knut Johan’s son, Knut Frode Eide, had a promising career in the booming oil industry, but quit his job to join his father in the salmon business in 1984. With twice the work and half the salary few people understood his choice, but Knut Frode saw the potential in salmon farming from the very beginning.
In 1988 he mortgaged his house to secure funding for starting salmon farming in the sea, in the Hardanger fjord. Together with his wife Randi Eide Knut Frode developed the company to a solid business with eight sea sites for salmon. Eide Fjordbruk was a big part of his life, and when he in 2018 lost the eight-year battle against brain cancer it was a great loss to both the family, the company and the employees.
Sondre Eide took over as CEO after Knut Frode and is currently steering the business in the spirit of Knut Frode, towards the future. Where Knut Frode took the business from the lake to the sea, Sondre is taking it further out in the world and into the cloud, with new innovations in big data, the visitor center Salmon Eye and a new brand for carbon neutral salmon.
On his team is also the rest of the Eide family. His brother Erlend Eide is CTO and head of R&D in the company, while mom Randi runs the office and is also Chairman of the BoD. Jennifer, the wife of Sondre holds the position as head of analytics.
Our production cycle and value chain starts by purchasing roe to be hatched at our own hatchery in Eidestøa by lake Skogseidvatnet. Choosing the right roe and genetic material is crucial.
Two months after hatching we start feeding the fry in the nursery. At this stage, the fish live in fresh water in tanks on land. Continuous monitoring of the water quality is critical. We select feed of the highest quality and vaccinate the fish against known diseases, all to ensure that the fish has the best possible start of its life.
After eight to 14 months the juveniles enters the smolt stage. This is the salmon’s way of preparing its body and organs for a life in the salty sea water. You can see the physiological changes on the color of the fish skin as this is when it gets its shiny silver suit.
With excellent care and feeding in the sea the fish grows to harvest weight in another twelve months. At this stage, the fish is harvested using either a well boat or a processing vessel and brought to a packaging facility nearby, before being transported to the markets all over the world.
To succeed in producing the best fish it is important to have the best tools and ingredients. We ensure this by only selecting the best roe, the newest vaccines and the highest quality feed, three key resources that we by from trusted suppliers which we have a long partnership with. Through frequent dialog with our suppliers, we ensure that we are always at the forefront and able to apply the newest technology and innovations. The suppliers of roe, vaccines and feed are large companies with a global reach. In total, these purchases account for about 50% of our production costs.
The other half of our cost base is distributed among a wide range of smaller, local suppliers. Fish nets, cages, vessels, safety equipment, diving and ROV-services, logistics and processing are all carried out by local companies in the regions where we operate.
All the companies in the Eide group are Norwegian limited liability companies. The parent company is Eide Fjordbruk Holding AS. The Eide-group is controlled by the Eide family through the company “Randi & Knut Frode AS”.
The commercial salmon production in the sea is in Eide Fjordbruk AS, while our R&D production focusing on new feed ingredients are in Norforsk AS. The smolt production (juveniles) in the group occurs in KJ Eide Fiskeoppdrett AS and Lialaks AS. Salmon Eye AS will operate the visitor center “Salmon Eye”. Eide Sustainable Marine Technology AS is a dedicated R&D company focusing on developing new technology for fish farming.
This report cover all the group companies, but most of the material topics are only related to the farming activity in Eide Fjordbruk AS and Norforsk AS
The group also holds investments in several associated companies.
Hålandsdalen Utbygging AS and Skjelbreid Poirée are local investments in real estate development and operations.
Searis AS is a software-company doing the big data visualization and machine learning.
Ænes Inkubator AS is a RAS-facility for production of large salmon smolts under construction.
Sjømatstaden AS is a development project in Nordfjord aimed at producing salmon in closed containment systems in the sea and commercializing new aquaculture species.
Bruravik Utvikling AS is a real estate development company. Miljø- og Havbruk AS offer de-lousing services.
Our material topics for sustainability reporting are the topics considered most important to both us in Eide and to our external stakeholders.
The material topics are sorted in four categories according to our four promises, the 4 F’s; Fish, Folk, Fjord and Future. In this report you can read more about how we have defined each topic, our goals and ambitions for each topic, current status and which measures we are implementing to improve and reach our goals.
For Fish the material topics are fish health and-welfare, responsible use of chemicals and medicines, and reducing fish mortality. Within the Folk dimension the most important is employee safety, thriving local communities and ethical business conduct. For Fjord the material topics are fish escapes, greenhouse gas emissions and our discharge to the environment. In the Future dimension innovation in new feed ingredients and new technology, as well as economic performance and competitiveness was considered most important.
Together with our internal and external stakeholders we have mapped the material sustainability topics related to our operations and business. The answers are based on a quantitative survey completed in 2020 and qualitative interviews with selected stakeholders in 2021.
In total 66 persons completed the survey, and the replies are well distributed among internal and external stakeholders, and between the different subcategories of stakeholders. The respondents has been asked to categorize 40 different sustainability topics after importance for our business and operations from «Not very important»(score 1), «A little important» (score 2), «Pretty important» (score 3) «Important» (Score 4) to «Very important» (score 5). The survey was done anonymously. Since some stakeholder groups (mainly employees and suppliers) have more respondents than others all stakeholder groups are weighted equally in the calculation of scores. As a result, a respondent’s reply may be weighted differently depending on which subcategory of stakeholders he or she belongs to.
All topics rated as important are shown in the matrix below, while those considered as material by both internal and external stakeholders are the material topics for our sustainability reporting and will be the ones we focus on in the report.
The year 2021 turned out to be another year where the pandemic heavily affected our social relations. We had to adapt due to external factors outside our control. I’m impressed by how the people in our organization handled the situation which kept changing from week to week. I’m proud of our talented and skilled workers who cooperate and wants to improve and always do better than the previous year. In many ways, this is our identity, our tradition for quality, to never give up, and to never be fully satisfied. This culture is what drives our business forward.
It is no secret that we invest a lot into what we believe is the solutions for the future of aquaculture. In the region where we operate, both geographically and politically, it is clear that we need skills in navigating rough terrain and clearing obstacles along the way. However, if we succeed here, under these circumstances, nothing will stop us.
My job is to ensure the spirit of these two entrepreneurs continues. We will overcome the challenges together, to grow and compete also in the future. In Eide we are not afraid, we will set the standard for the future of aquaculture. We are well on our way, but it is still far to go. Long term team effort with a shared common goal and attention to quality and details in every step of the process, will yield results. We must not settle for status quo and accept that the things we do today is good enough for the future.
We cannot hope and believe that other people will do the work for us. We must take active part in developing the industry ourselves, which we will. We have strong partners for the journey ahead.
Our strategy is to set the standard for the future of aquaculture. Last year we were the first carbon neutral salmon farmer. We have set clear goals and a clear direction. The validation of our strategy and our vision will be when others follow us. Our response will be to run even faster, together.
Sondre Eide
CEO and third generation salmon farmer
The Eide group is a fully family-owned business where we as a family and as owners have many roles to play. Our goal is to be close to the operations in order to have good insights and a steady hand on the wheel when important decisions are made. We aim to move the office closer to the farm, and the farm closer to the office.
In addition to being active owners we also make up the Board of Directors of the group and hold managing positions in the company. Here, the whole family is present all the way from the fish farm to the board room and the general assembly.
A great strength of this model is our ability to be close to the source and quickly make important decisions. This gives us the ability to quickly turn with great force and support, whether it is to exploit an opportunity in the market or to solve a problem. This is an important factor in an industry and a time where changes occur faster than ever before.
The flip side of this model is that we have multiple roles to handle, often at the same time, and this can be challenging at times. It also means that there are less segregation of duties between the governing levels.
We address this by having a strong team around us in the group management and in the board work. We also use PwC as our external accounting firm to implement good segregation of duties. We use Deloitte as auditor for the group.
In the Board of Directors of the Eide group we are the highest governance body of the group, and we are responsible for shaping the strategy and the goals for the business, as well as defining and evaluating the risks that we face in the business. We perform annual reviews of the strategic goals and risk assessments, where we strongly emphasize both the economic, social and environmental aspects of the business.
