How did the Falklands get to this point?

Unity Marine Ltd. They are a joint venture between a Danish consultancy, development and investment firm, established 28 March 2018 (called F-Land ApS) and a local Falklands fishing company, Fortuna Ltd.

Unity Marine Ltd is 74.9% owned by F-Land ApS and 25.1% by Fortuna Ltd.

Unity Marine Ltd have stated they want to start with a production of 50,000 tonnes of Atlantic salmon per annum, as a “first phase to prove the concept […] – they believe that the operation is scalable from the proposed 50,000 tonnes annually up to a potential of 200,000 tonnes annually.”

The minimum economically viable production in Falklands waters is said to be 35,000 tonnes per annum

Unity Marine Ltd is a Falkland Islands registered aquaculture company whose website gives a contact address and phone number in Denmark.

The Danish partner, F-Land ApS, describes itself: “The purpose of the company is consultancy, development and investment activities as well as other activities that are naturally associated with this.”

The stated founders of F-Land ApS are Pisco ApS and AquaBear ApS.

Like F-Land ApS, Pisco ApS’s stated purpose “is consultancy, development and investment activities as well as other activities that are naturally associated with this.”

Pisco ApS was established 18 January 2017.

In late 2017, the Falkland Islands Government (FIG) was approached by F-Land ApS, interested in developing an Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) farming project in Falkland Islands waters.

At the November 2021 General Elections, salmon farming became a major campaign issue. Each of the eight elected candidates were either emphatically against salmon farming, or expressed serious concerns about it.

Click here for FITV footage of the candidates’ views on salmon farming. (Footage copyright and credits FITV)

In March 2022, directly following the receipt and scrutiny of the report by the consultancy firm MacAlister Elliott & Partners Ltd (MEP), Executive Council agreed to recommendations that effectively put a stop to salmon farming in Falklands waters, while explicitly not banning any other form of aquaculture. Quoting from the ExCo Paper:

38-22P: Aquaculture development – a review of international best practices and regulatory options

Executive Council discussed the [MEP] report and confirmed that they were not minded to agree the recommendations in the report.

It was therefore resolved that:

A. there would be no ban on all aquaculture activities.

B. they were not minded to agree to any large-scale fish-farming in the Falkland Islands.

C. they were not minded to approve any fish–farming that involves the introduction of further new species to the Falkland Islands.

D. any licences issued under the Fish Farming Ordinance 2006 will be subject to a condition limiting the maximum annual production to 50 metric tonnes.

E. the outstanding consultation and policy development exercise was not to be completed in the form described in the report.

F. a robust legislative framework be developed and implemented.

G. officers are asked to report back to Executive Council on options to implement the above policy decisions.

“Executive Council (ExCo) resolved in a meeting on March 29 that large scale aquaculture, including salmon farming, will not take place in the Falkland Islands following consideration of a paper on international best practices and regulatory options.”

“MLA Mark Pollard, who was in ExCo for the meeting, explained that despite the phrasing of being “minded” not to, this decision is now set in policy.”

“MLA Teslyn Barkman, portfolio holder for Natural Resources, stated: ‘We decided that we could set that policy decision direction based on the information contained within the MEP (MacAlister Elliott & Partners) report.’ She continued, ‘it was specifically about salmon farming and best practices but it enabled us to be able to make the call that large-scale fish farming would not be appropriate in our coastal inshore area.’”

“It was noted by MLAs Barkman and Pollard that ExCo were “very careful to separate the current aquaculture practices” from future large-scale activity or activity which introduces further new species. MLA Barkman also said this could allow developments such as kelp farming for carbon offsetting, further onshore toothfish farming, and other such projects. MLA Pollard summarised this as: ‘Not shutting down opportunity, but absolutely saying no to salmon farming.’

“Commenting on the decision of ExCo, Dr Esther Bertram, CEO of Falklands Conservation, said ‘Falklands Conservation strongly welcome the decision by Executive Council to reject industrial scale open-pen fish farming and the introduction of further new species”, and that “our inshore waters are key for our local wildlife and fish stocks, and through this decision our representatives have ensured the protection of our environment, responded to the community’s concerns, and strengthened our existing industries for the long term.’

“Dr Bertram added ‘This marks the beginning of an economic opportunity to develop industries and practices that are not only less damaging to, but also actively benefit, the environment. Last year’s general election saw these issues coming to the fore and it is great to see the country taking such a progressive green approach to development.’”

Excerpts from No to Salmon Farming by Nicholas Roberts for Penguin News, 1 April 2022

In 2023, Penguin News published several probing (and possibly defamatory) articles that reported on claims made by James Wallace (Managing Director of Unity Marine Ltd) about a formal agreement between FIG and Fortuna Ltd that stipulated the company were not to engage with the public during the process of consideration regarding salmon farming in the Falklands. The articles also queried whether the then Chief Executive, Barry Rowland, may have been party to this agreement.  In a surprising about-turn, Penguin News then published a front-page apology on 28 April 2023. The text of the apology states:

“A sincere apology to Fortuna Limited, Unity Marine Limited, James Wallace and Barry Rowland

“Penguin News would like to issue a formal and sincere apology to Fortuna Limited, Unity Marine Limited, James Wallace and Barry Rowland [Chief Executive of the Falkland Islands until April 2021, becoming Strategic Advisor of Fortuna Ltd just over a year later] and to retract various articles and comments previously published between February 10, 2023 and March 17, 2023 relating to aquaculture and the relationship of the various parties with the Falkland Islands Government.

“Regarding the retracted articles and columns, Penguin News would like to clarify that it wishes to remove and renounce any implications that there was any manner of corruption or bribery involved in an arrangement between Unity Marine and FIG relating to aquaculture, or that this had any relation or impact on the employment of Mr Barry Rowland by Fortuna LTD following his term as Chief Executive of the Falkland Islands Government. […]”

“Whilst it was stated by Mr James Wallace and reported in the February 3, 2023 issue of Penguin News that there had been an agreement, the existence of which was denied by government in the February 17 issue, there was no intention to imply that this agreement was corrupt in nature or held any improper terms or subverted the democratic process.

“At Fortuna’s request we have agreed to make a substantial donation to the Stephen Jaffray Memorial Fund in order to resolve this matter.

“While we acknowledge that there is a range of opinions in relation to the development of salmon farming in the Falkland Islands, we will seek to provide balanced coverage of this matter in the future.”

On 2 May 2023, Unity Marine Ltd served an application for judicial review on FIG, relating to ExCo’s decision to ban salmon farming in Falklands waters.

FIG considered the claim to be misconceived, and “that it seeks to undermine the mandate delivered by voters through the ballot box.” (24 May 2023 FIG press release)

FIG contested the claim, and made an application to the court for the grant of leave to be reconsidered.

However, on 3 August 2023, FIG’s application to set aside the grant to leave was dismissed by the Supreme Court of the Falkland Islands. Case Ref: SC/CIV/02/23

Instead of meeting in open court for a judicial review, the parties inexplicably agreed to hold negotiations behind closed doors.

The result of these behind-closed-doors negotiations is that ExCo’s decision against salmon farming was quashed. Instead, there shall now be a public consultation about salmon farming. This is decreed by the Consent Order of 7 June 2024, Case Ref: SC/CIV/02/23.