With big-name backers and all-star talent, this land-based salmon farming project seems to have everything it needs. So why did its equipment supplier just remove the project from its books?

There was no lack of ambition when Henrik Tangen, a former executive with Norwegian investment bank Pareto, unveiled plans in 2020 for a massive land-based salmon farming project in Maryland.

The NOK 9.5 billion (€939 million/$985 million) project would include three production facilities with a capacity of 45,000 metric tons. The company, AquaCon, would list on the Oslo Stock Exchange in 2021, and the first shovels would be put into the ground that same year.

Major groups, including Dutch agri-giant Nutreco, hopped aboard, and the project drew experienced executives, including former Mowi Chief Operating Officer Marit Solberg.