Norwegian salmon farming giant SalMar has entered a partnership with industrial giant Aker to establish and eventually take public a new offshore aquaculture company, in one of the surest signs yet that fish farming further away from shore has a future.

The new joint company, SalMar Aker Ocean, will develop offshore operations they say will be "the world's most reliable and intelligent offshore farming operations."

"SalMar's focus on the open ocean marked the start of a new era in the seafood industry," SalMar CEO Gustav Witzoe said.