In Skagen, you can find the shipping companies Themis Fiskeri and Astrid Fiskeri, both of which have had a great impact on the fact that the city’s port is today the country’s largest fishing port.
But the names of the shipping companies’ owning families reveal their foreign origins. Johansson and Ryberg, they are called.
Two Swedish families who have operated large-scale fisheries in Denmark for decades and who, according to new accounts, now together own quotas worth DKK 3 billion.
The two Swedish families have never held so many fishing rights before. But they do now. And they thus illustrate very well why, according to the Danish Fisheries Agency, there are now more Swedes than Danes among the owners of salable Danish fishing quotas.
Let’s zoom in on Themis Fishing first.
From a small, idyllic archipelago island
Here, the owner family, led by Anders and Björn Ryberg, has for years made good money by catching and selling large quantities of sprat, sole, herring and mackerel. It happens from several state-of-the-art trawlers.
And the last financial year was no exception.
DKK 37 million was earned by the family shipping company, a new account shows, where the value of the company’s fishing rights is calculated at just under DKK 1.4 billion. The highest ever.
The family behind lives on Rörö in the Swedish archipelago, but has a connection to Denmark that goes back hundreds of years. The company Themis Fiskeri itself was registered in 2011 and today lands its fish in both Skagen and Thyborøn.
Here, the Ryberg family, who are of the discreet type who stay out of the public spotlight, have financially helped to support several different projects. And both maintained and created new jobs.
So does the family behind Astrid Fiskeri.
From large, state-of-the-art trawlers, tons of fish – and millions of kroner – are lifted over the railing. Archive photo: Henning Bagger/Ritzau Scanpix.
The expensive generational change
At the head of the shipping company, which has its home port in Skagen, are the brothers Thomas and Börje Johansson.
They also originate from the archipelago island of Rörö, but from the harbor in Skagen have created a hugely profitable business fishing for herring and mackerel, which ends up as e.g. canned marinated herring and mackerel fillets, as well as sole, sprat, blue whiting and sprat, which are used for fishmeal and fish oil.
The earnings over a 10-year period are approaching one billion kroner. So does equity.
But it won’t be with the brothers Thomas and Börje at the helm forever.
A generational change for the brothers’ three sons, Kristian, Johannes and Daniel, has been initiated. Illustrated, among other things, by the dividend of DKK 471.6 million. DKK, which the family did last year.
It is expensive to change generations of a company with such great values.
– The group of owners has ensured the financing of this, so that the future liquidity is not weakened in connection with the impending change of generations, the management said in this connection.
Astrid Fiskeri has fishing rights worth DKK 1.6 billion. The amount took a quantum leap when the family bought quotas from Henning Kjeldsen for DKK 1.2 billion in 2022.
The family behind Themis Fiskeri was content to grab Kjeldsen quotas for DKK 500 million.
Quota types and quota ceilings
- There is to typer of fishing quotas in the Danish quota system:
- FKA quotas (vessel quota shares) which include the demersal species (e.g. cod, sole and spiny lobster) (food fish)).
- IOC quotas (individually tradable quotas) that include the pelagic species (fish that do not live on the bottom of the sea (e.g. herring, mackerel and sole)).
- The following applies ceilings over how large a share of the two quota types that a single person may own:
- FKA quotas: Total maximum 4 pct. The quotas must therefore be divided among at least 25 fishermen.
- IOC quotas: Total maximum 10 pct. The quotas must therefore be divided among at least 10 fishermen.
- In addition, there is the so-called cross rule: If a fisherman owns more than 1 per cent. of the total IOK quotas, the person concerned may not also own FKA quotas.
Source: Danish Fisheries Agency
Where the winnings end up
However, the fact that two Swedish families in Skagen are sitting on such a large part of the Danish fishing quotas does not mean that all the profits from fishing in Danish waters end up in Sweden.
To be able to own a Danish fishing quota, you must have a license as a commercial fisherman at home and own a legal entity that is registered in Denmark. And you must pay tax at home on your income from Danish quotas.
The quotas also go both ways in the sense that Danish fishing ports – because there is a large and open fishing market within the EU and the North Atlantic – receive a lot of fish caught under foreign fishing quotas every year.
Fish is landed where the price and processing options are good, and the logistics are suitable. Here, the fishing ports in North Jutland, among others, are strong.
2024-11-09 07:36:00
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In recent years, the fishing sector in Denmark has seen a notable shift with an increasing number of Swedes acquiring significant fishing quotas. Two families, the Rybergs and the Johanssons, have emerged as prominent players, collectively owning quotas valued at DKK 3 billion.
The Ryberg family operates Themis Fishing, based in Rörö, Sweden. They specialize in catching sprat, sole, herring, and mackerel, using cutting-edge trawlers. Their success is evident, with reported earnings of DKK 37 million for the past financial year and a record valuation of their fishing rights at almost DKK 1.4 billion.
In contrast, the Johansson family runs Astrid Fiskeri from Skagen, also hailing from Rörö. They have significantly capitalized on herring and mackerel fishing, marking earnings close to one billion kroner over the last decade. The family is in the process of a generational transition, highlighted by a substantial dividend payout of DKK 471.6 million that year. Their fishing rights are valued at DKK 1.6 billion, bolstered by the purchase of quotas worth DKK 1.2 billion in 2022.
This evolution is underscored by the Danish Fisheries Agency’s observation that the ownership landscape of Danish fishing quotas is increasingly skewed towards Swedes, reflecting broader trends in the industry.
