The British Colombia land-based salmon firm Kuterra will no longer be sold to US land-based firm Whole Oceans' parent holding company, Emergent Holding's, after more than half of the members of Kuterra's ownership company voted against the deal.

US-based Emergent Holdings and Kuterra said in June it had reached a deal that could give the US investor a majority stake in the British Columbia-based land-based salmon farmer.

Kuterra's majority owners, the Namgis First Nation, recently voted on whether the company should sell its 88 percent equity stake to Emergent Holdings, to which 103 out of 199 voted against the move. The vote was necessary because the Namgis require a referendum for leases of its community property land that are longer than 49 years.

The two sides, however, are still talking," Jo Mrozewski, communications director for Kuttera, told IntraFish.

"Meetings are underway over the next few months to see where the concerns are and where they can be mitigated,"

Kuterra was built with CAD 9.5 million (€6.7 million/$7.1 million) in government and charitable funding, including CAD 3 million (€2.1 million/$2.2 million) from Tides Canada.

The company is producing roughly 300 metric tons of salmon annually, and has been growing land-based salmon on Vancouver Island since 2013.

Aquaculture

Whole Oceans' holding company, Kuterra looking to restructure deal