In one decade Atlantic Sapphire has grown from being a gadfly in the conventional salmon farming industry to a publicly-listed investor magnet, boasting a market cap of NOK 7.9 billion (€747 million/$865 million).

Leading up to the company's first harvest at its Bluehouse Miami facility, it's safe to say shareholders have ridden a rollercoaster, experiencing mass die-offs, off-flavor troubles and a lot of criticism, but they've also enjoyed a whole lot of success.

The ride began in 2010, when two seasoned Norwegian salmon executives, Johan Andreassen and Bjorn-Vegard Lovik, set up Atlantic Sapphire after successfully building up the organic salmon company Villa Organic.

To kick start its land-based vision, Andreassen and Lovik partnered with Danish recirculation aquaculture system (RAS) expert Thue Holm and constructed a commercial pilot of its land-based farming concept in Denmark, with the aim of ultimately building a similar production concept in the United States.

As the aquaculture industry waits for the first harvest to hit markets, here are 10 key moments that defined Atlantic Sapphire's past decade:

1. Controversial land-based salmon hits EU market

From January 2014, the brainchild of Thue Holm began harvesting 15 metric tons of land-based salmon in Denmark's Langsand Laks. At that time, it was all about dismissing critics of the venture.

2. The American dream: now a reality

It wasn't until early 2017 that Atlantic Sapphire broke ground on its Miami-Dade County location, with the aim to first start harvesting in 2020.

Cities such as New York, Chicago, Boston and Miami are the company's target markets, as it aims on supplying to places that can be reached in 12 hours with fresh salmon.

3. Die-off meets IPO

Right before joining Norway's over-the-counter market (NOTC), Atlantic Sapphire is forced to negotiate a roadblock.

It's Danish operation, Langsand Laks, was struck with "sudden and unexpected mortality" at its land-based salmon farming plant, wiping out all the fish in its grow-out system within a period of 15-20 hours.

The company was valued at NOK 1.39 billion (€148.9 million/$172.3 million) right after joining NOTC.

One year later, Atlantic Sapphire makes the move to the Oslo Stock Exchange's alternative Merkur Market, a few months after restarting harvesting at its Danish facility.

4. "An incredible milestone"

November 2018 was when Atlantic Sapphire began salmon production at its massive facility in Miami, United States, stocking its first 400,000 eggs.

"It marks the start of salmon farming in Florida," Andreassen said at the time. "We're not just guiding and planning, but we're producing fish right now."

5. Whole Foods gambles on the product

Shortly after stocking in Miami, Atlantic Sapphire struck a long-term agreement with Whole Foods Market in the United Kingdom for the sale of its land-based salmon across the country.

The company shipped the first delivery of salmon from its Danish operations to Whole Foods in March 2019, marking the first time land-based salmon is sold in the United Kingdom.

6. Doubles production outlook

Atlantic Sapphire decided to move the goalposts in the summer of 2019, upping its expected annual harvest volumes to 220,000 metric tons by 2031, more than double the original prediction.

The company also acquired an additional 300-500 acres of land in Miami to secure additional key permits and develop vertical integration.

7. Byproducts JV

In November of 2019, Atlantic Sapphire chose to partner with Norwegian group Hofseth Biocare to establish a joint venture at the company's Miami site to produce byproducts from its offcuts.

The company is now targeting limited byproducts production in the fourth quarter once Atlantic Sapphire kicks off the first phase of its planned 20,000 metric ton production.

The joint venture will use Hofseth Biocare's expertise to produce refined products such as salmon oil, proteins and calcium products for the feed, pet and human consumption market.

8. Here comes the feed

Aquaculture feed giant Skretting gets a win by securing a contract to supply Atlantic Sapphire entire operations on November 2019, covering the company's feed requirements in both Denmark and the United States.

Up until this point, Skretting's competitor, Danish feed giant BioMar, had been the lead supplier for Atlantic Sapphire's operations in Denmark.

9. A massive loss

Atlantic Sapphire Denmark experienced another mortality event in one of its grow-out systems in March 2020, losing around 227,000 fish and pushing the company's next harvest revenue back by about four months.

"When we fail, we learn. The world doesn't go on if we don't dare to fail," Andreassen said at the time, adding that raising fish close to markets with no impact on coastal areas and avoidance of airfreight's financial and environmental costs is "the future."

10. May 5: A long anticipated move

May 5 marked Atlantic Sapphire's much anticipated first day of trading on the Oslo Stock Exchange main market Oslo Bors under the ticker ASA.

The move away from the smaller, less-regulated Merkur market will provide Atlantic Sapphire's shares with greater liquidity for both its existing shareholders, and give potential investors more confidence in the company's ability to raise money and its ability to trade.

Analysis

Ten years on: A look back at Atlantic Sapphire's land-based salmon farming odyssey