Internal control programme

According to the valid licence terms and conditions, all farming units must have an internal control programme approved by the supervisory authority.

Internal control comprises two separate areas

1. Internal operations monitoring and recording all essential events and daily maintenance routines pertaining to the quantities of fish, transport to and from the facility, feeding, mortality, etc. All events are recorded in the facility’s logbook and joint database software, which acts as our company’s key tool in production planning and monitoring. Monitoring the health and well-being of fish is an important part of operations from the perspectives of both animal welfare and business economics. Healthy fish utilise the provided feed optimally, which leads to good growth and yields good production results.

2. Obligatory monitoring of the water body/environment. The goal of the programme is to determine the potential impacts of our operations on the environment and, thereby, the operations and interests of other parties. Sampling and analysis of samples have been outsourced to professionals approved by the appropriate authorities. The results are published in an annual report sent to the authorities and, upon request, to other concerned parties. The content and scope of the internal control programmes vary, but they usually include water chemistry, phytoplankton, sediment and benthos. The facilities usually fall under the joint monitoring programmes of operators in the area that cause an environmental load on the waters. This is a cost-efficient way to determine the ecological status of the waters and monitor its development as well as any changes in it.

The supervisory authority performs inspections and carries out annual monitoring/inspection visits to the facilities. Facility logbooks and other documentation are checked in order to ensure that we comply with all the licence terms, existing legislation and other government regulations in our operations. This is very important in order to ensure our company’s image, openness and transparency. General acceptance by society is important to both our company and the entire industry. It is a necessary basis in order for the industry and our company to develop and expand their operations.