With the backing of Labour Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Centre Party leader Vedum has thrown the normally stable industry into turmoil since he was forced to reveal his controversial salmon land tax plan a week ago.
The coalition government’s new tax will apply to farms with production of over 5,000 tonnes a year, meaning the smaller salmon farmers should escape.
Millions have been wiped off salmon shares – SalMar alone has lost half of its stock market value – while all the major companies have pulled or shelved ambitious investment plans.
The land tax, which is also being levied on Norway’s wind power industry, is expected to raise up to NOK 3.8 billion (£320m) to help plug Norway’s growing budget deficit. However, the salmon industry thinks it could be three times that figure…