(Left to right) Josefina Söderlund Svahn, country commercial food manager, IKEA; Svenska Försäljning AB, Kristin Hurum, director of HR, sustainability, quality at Cermaq Norway; and Jussi Kosomaa, business director at Nordic Trout
The Producer of the Year award went to Cermaq for its innovative iFarm project, while Ikea picked up the Retailer of the Year award for its exclusive commitment to sell ASC certified salmon. Nordic Trout Sverige was awarded ASC Newcomer of the Year for the first ASC certified farm in Sweden.
Laetitia Rosing, regional manager of ASC Nordics, said: “2024 was a remarkable year of growth for the Nordic market. New producers have joined the programme and existing producers have expanded their participation by certifying additional farms. Collectively, these farms have produced an impressive 801,000 metric tonnes of ASC certified seafood. Additionally, we have seen a 25 percent growth in the uptake of ASC-labelled products in stores across the Nordics.
“These achievements provide plenty of reasons to celebrate with the ASC Nordic Awards. They not only honour the winners, but also recognise the entire industry for its contributions to driving change and improving responsible farming of seafood.”
Producer of the Year
The nominees for the ASC Nordic Producer of the Year award were:
- Bremnes Seashore: For achieving 100 percent ASC certification across all facilities in 2024.
- Firda Seafood Group: For certifying eight additional facilities in 2024, ensuring all operational sites are now ASC certified.
- Cermaq: For its innovative iFarm project, which enhances fish health and welfare while reducing environmental impact.
Cermaq won for its innovative iFarm project, which uses artificial intelligence to recognise individual fish in a pen and provide each with a health record and personalised care. iFarm enables early detection of lice, counting them while they are still small and unable to reproduce. Infected fish can be separated from the rest and treated individually, reducing risks such as escapes associated with group treatments. The technology also allows early detection of sick or weak fish, preventing the spread of disease and optimising feed usage to minimise environmental impact.
Kristin Hurum, director of sustainability, quality and HR at Cermaq Norway said: “We continuously work on solutions to improve fish welfare and enhance sustainability in our production, with ambitious goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The iFarm technology, developed in close collaboration with our partner BioSort, represents an important step toward creating more sustainable aquaculture with better fish welfare and environmental adaptation."
Retailer of the Year
The ASC Nordic Retailer of the Year award celebrates retailers who champion ASC certified seafood and drive consumer awareness. The 2024 nominees were:
- Ikea: For committing early to exclusively selling ASC certified salmon and ensuring traceability certification for Ikea restaurants.
- Axfood Sverige: A leading Swedish retailer distinguished by its ambitious goals for sustainable seafood.
- Rema 1000 Denmark: Ensuring 100 percent of its fresh salmon is ASC certified, with an extensive range of ASC-labelled products.
Ikea won for its early commitment to selling only ASC certified salmon and ensuring chain of custody certification for its restaurants, and food.
Karin van Oost, sustainability leader food, at Ikea, said, “We are honoured to receive this recognition for our commitment to sustainably sourced seafood. This award reaffirms our dedication to preserving our oceans and ensuring a healthier future for generations to come.”
Newcomer of the Year
The 2024 ASC Nordic Newcomer of the Year nominees were:
- Nordic Trout Sverige: Recognised for establishing the first ASC certified facility in Sweden.
- Telemarkrøye AS: The first in Scandinavia to certify an Arctic char production facility.
- Noray Seafood: The world’s first land-based biofloc shrimp farm to achieve ASC certification, introduced to the Nordic market through Ocean Collective.
Nordic Trout Sverige was awarded ASC Newcomer of the Year for the first ASC certified farm in Sweden. The company has a history dating back to the 1980s, meeting growing demand for salmonids across the Nordics and beyond. Initially founded in Finland, it became the largest trout producer there by the late 1990s. Nordic Trout expanded into Sweden in the 2000s, where it now operates 32 locations across Finland, Åland, and Sweden, producing 10,000 tonnes of rainbow trout and roe annually.
Jussi Kosomaa, chief business officer, said: “At Nordic Trout, we see this award as a recognition of the hard work our staff at the Foxen fish farm in Töcksfors have accomplished. Nordic Trout, with fish farming operations in Sweden, Åland, and Finland, has taken an important step on its sustainability journey by achieving ASC certification for its fish farm at Lake Foxen.
“For the company, this is an important milestone on our journey toward more sustainable fish farming, as well as toward establishing Swedish-farmed rainbow trout as a staple food for both everyday meals and special occasions among Swedish consumers. The Swedish people deserve access to sustainably farmed Swedish fish.”
