The business was established in the mid-1990s when Vitaly Orlov, a graduate from Murmansk High Marine School, joined efforts with Swedish entrepreneur Magnus Roth.

Bareboat charters were crucial for the post-Soviet fishing industry, as vessels left from the All-Union Fishery Association were outdated.

[8][9][10] In September 2003, Tugushev became Deputy Head of Russia's State Fisheries Committee (Goskomrybolovstvo) responsible for the development of a new system for distribution of fishing quotas.

[11] Later, a Russian court found Tugushev to be guilty of bribery, he was jailed for 6 years and therefore later banned from visiting Britain[12] (see Norebo conflict for details).

Several companies of the holding are included in the list of systemically important organizations of the agro-industrial complex of Russia (compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation).

One of the Norebo's partners is the Danish company Espersen, which is involved into secondary processing of fish and supplying it to the largest retail chains and restaurants in the European Union, including McDonald's.