This article was featured in Eurofish Magazine 2 2026.
Finland’s aquaculture sector has shown modest but consistent growth in recent years, supported by a more positive regulatory climate and generational renewal within family-owned farming businesses. Around 200 fish farming companies currently operate across the country, producing approximately 16,600 tonnes of fish for human consumption annually—primarily rainbow trout—with a total value of around EUR 100 million. Production is split between marine environments, inland waters, and recirculating aquaculture systems. Finland also places considerable emphasis on fry production, with roughly 50 million juveniles raised each year to support wild stock restoration and recreational fisheries, an approach that reflects the sector’s dual role in both commercial production and ecosystem management.
Despite these foundations, the sector faces significant pressures. The permitting process remains costly and time-consuming, and production costs, which are driven largely by feed, labour, and services, are high compared to competitors. Norwegian salmon, produced at far greater scale, sets the market price for large trout, limiting the margin available to Finnish producers. Attempts to diversify into species such as pikeperch, eel, and catfish have not yet achieved commercially viable results.
Despite these challenges, domestic demand for locally farmed fish is growing steadily, underpinned by consumer interest in traceable and sustainably produced food. Export opportunities in the Baltic region provide an additional avenue for growth, and the Finnish Fish Farmers’ Association sees the sector as well positioned to contribute more meaningfully to national food security, provided regulatory conditions continue to improve.
