Aquaculture licences awarded by the state give companies a chance to profit from public resources, and governments on both the left and right have considered imposing extra taxes on the fish farming industry in recent years.

Norway's centre-left Labour-led government must now negotiate a final deal in parliament before a tax takes effect, but it is already clear that there is a majority in favour of taxing the industry more heavily.

"We have a long tradition in Norway in which value that is created from using our common natural resources shall benefit society as a whole," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said in a statement.

"It is now the time to introduce a resource rent tax for the aquaculture industry."

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik)