With several offices along the Norwegian coast, SANDS’ full-service and specialised fishing and aquaculture team maintains a market-leading offering, advising leading industry players on the full range of regulatory, transactional and contentious work in the sector. Regulatory advice is a particular strength of the team, and practice head Halfdan Mellbye has a solid track record advising on regulatory frameworks relating to fisheries and fish farming, including environmental issues and sales regulations, from the Bergen office. Ole-Martin Lund Andreassen in Tromsø handles coastal zone planning and aquaculture concessions work for cod farming clients. Transactional mandates are handled by Eirik Edvardsen, while Frode Henning Antonsen is hailed by clients as ‘supremely the best’ in industry-related construction matters; both are based in Trondheim.
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘The team is made up of people with different skills who complement each other very well. They are forward-thinking and aggressive and are able to combine their legal skills with a great understanding of the purpose and processes in the aquaculture industry.’
‘Frode Henning Antonsen is a highly skilled lawyer. His strength is his expertise in the field combined with extensive experience with construction projects. He is very service-minded and stands up when we need his support. He is supremely the best in the market from our point of view.’
‘Halfdan Melbye stands out.'
'Sands has many employees with heavy experience on legal issues concerning fishery legislations.'
'I recommend Ole-Martin Lund Andreassen and Bjørn-Ivar Bendiksen.'
'To the point understanding of our needs and very clear on this in their advice to us.'
'The experience and insight Halfdan Melbye has from the sector is outstanding and has been most valuable for our company. Also has his ability to read and understand our needs.'
Key clients
- Sulefisk
- Osland Havbruk
- Nofima
- Grøntvedt Pelagic
- Langøylaks - Troland Fiskeoppdrett - Austevoll Melaks
- Skjerneset Fisk – Mork Rensefisk
- Sjømatbedriftene
- Nergård
- Akvaplan Niva
- Driva Aquaculture
- Lofoten Sjøprodukter
- Kime Aqua
Work highlights
- Acted as legal consultant for Sjømatbedriftenes' activities regarding the Norwegian government's introduction of ground rent tax on the aquaculture industry, to reduce the negative impact of this new tax regime.
- Advised Oddvar Nes AS, one of the largest companies within white fish in Northern Norway, on its purchase of 100% of the shares in Vesterhav AS.
- Assisted Lofoten Sjøprodukter with re-establishing a permit from the authorities to use a fish-farming location.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Halfdan Mellbye