GAA To Honor Aquaculture Pioneer At GOAL 2013

August, 2013

The Global Aquaculture Alliance is recognizing aquaculture pioneer Bjørn Myrseth with a Lifetime Achievement Award at its GOAL 2013 conference in Paris, France, the organization announced in late August.

Mr. Myrseth will accept the award at the start of the three-day GOAL 2013 conference program on Oct. 8.

“Bjørn is not only a long-time advocate for responsible and sustainable aquaculture, but he has also been a friend and counselor to many of us as we undertake our journeys in the seafood world,” said GAA Executive Director Wally Stevens. “He has willingly shared his knowledge about hatchery and grow-out operations at a number of GOAL and other industry meetings, always with the attitude that a rising tide lifts all boats. Bjørn is a true gentleman and a real credit to the aquaculture industry.”

Mr. Myrseth’s career in aquaculture spans more than four decades. He is best known as co-founder of Stolt Sea Farm S.A., acting as the company’s CEO from 1972 to 1987, and as founder of Marine Farms ASA in 1987, serving as the company’s CEO through 2010.

Stolt Sea Farm pioneered Atlantic salmon smolt production in Norway in the 1970s and 1980s. The company supplied smolts to more than 100 independent farmers and pioneered the industry by setting standards for how the smolt business was done. The company expanded into Atlantic salmon farming in the United States and Canada and was among the first companies to realize the opportunities for salmon farming in this part of the world.

Stolt Sea Farm was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange in 1985, the first aquaculture company ever to be listed on a stock exchange.

Following Stolt Sea Farm, Mr. Myrseth’s became owner of Marine Farms and served as the company’s CEO from 1987 to 2010. The company invested in aquaculture operations in Norway, Scotland, Greece, Spain and Chile, all of which turned out to be successful. The company could lay claim to a number of firsts, including the first use of Polar Circle cages and feeding platforms in Greece and Spain and well boats in Spain, all new developments in the sea bass and sea bream industry. Marine Farms was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange in 2006. When it was acquired by Morpol ASA in 2010, Marine Farms had operations in Scotland (salmon), Spain (sea bass and sea bream), Belize (cobia) and Vietnam (cobia and pompano).

At Morpol, Mr. Myrseth has been a director since 2011 and chairman since 2012. In December 2012, Morpol was purchased by Marine Harvest ASA, the world’s largest salmon producer.

Additionally, Mr. Myrseth was a founding member of European Aquaculture Society in 1976 and president of the organization from 1992 to 1993. In 2011, he received the Federation of European Aquaculture Producers’ annual award for excellence in European aquaculture.

Over the last 10 years, Mr. Myrseth has, in addition to salmon and sea bass and sea bream farming, spent time on tropical fish farming with farms in Belize and Vietnam, transferring proper cage-farming technology and management to the two countries.

A Norwegian national, Mr. Myrseth earned a master’s degree in fisheries biology from University of Bergen in 1971.

Nearly 50 speakers and panelists are scheduled to participate in GOAL 2013. Day 1 of GOAL 2013 will focus on production data for Atlantic salmon, shrimp, Pangasius, tilapia, mussels, and sea bass and sea bream, while Day 2 will focus on feed sustainability and aquaculture growth opportunities in the Middle East and Africa. Day 3 will focus on the marketplace, with many of the world’s leading retailers discussing the challenges and opportunities they face.

GOAL 2013 will take place at the Hotel Pullman Montparnasse in the heart of Paris’ historic Left Bank.