Proximar Seafood has announced its third production upgrade following the successful start of Atlantic salmon production at its Oyama (Japan) facility in October 2022.
Photo: Proximar Seafood.
"We remain on track for first harvest in the third quarter this year." So Proximar CEO Joachim Nielsen concluded his comments on the production update for Q1 2024 published today. The land-based salmon producer calls the start of Atlantic salmon production at its Oyama, Japan, facility in October 2022 "successful" in its release.
In February, during the fourth quarter 2023 results presentation, the company already announced the next major operational phase was scheduled for April, when production would start in the second of four modules in the post-smolt grow-out building. Then, Proximar reported a biomass ramp-up and pointed to 2024 as a pivotal year for the company.
The land-based salmon producer successfully transferred the first fish to the post-smolt grow-out facility in December. In the production update released today, Proximar has confirmed that, at the end of Q1 2024, the standing biomass at its farm at the foot of Mount Fuji is 111.9 metric tons, up from 40.7 metric tons at the end of Q4 2023.
"We are very pleased to see the continuation of the positive development in our biomass also through the first quarter of 2024, despite the tank incident that we experienced in February," commented Joachim Nielsen. That setback affected the numbers of one of the batches - in its preliminary estimate the company spoke of 50,000 fish - but according to the information provided today, the overall impact was limited.
"Throughout the quarter we have seen steady performance and growth across all batches. The water quality remains stable and good, again demonstrated in the growth curves and low natural mortality. Following the maturation of the biofilters in the start-up phase of the grow-out facility, feeding is back to normal levels and growth rates are picking up according to plan," Proximar CEO continued. And concluded, "We remain on track for first harvest in the third quarter this year."
Image of a Proximar salmon at its facility in Oyama, Japan, weighing 2.2 kg. According to today's production update, the OCT22 batch has exceeded 1.5 kg on average.
Currently, the company has twelve batches in production - this is approximately 1.3 million individuals - showing healthy growth, ahead of the growth model, even despite the impact of the aforementioned tank incident in February. The OCT22 batch, for example, has exceeded 1.5 kg on average, ahead of the growth model. The DIC22 batch, on the other hand, is still somewhat behind the curve, but improving.
The long-term forecast harvest level for the Norwegian salmon producer located in Japan is 5,300 tons (HOG) per year in Phase 1. Proximar's next production update will be included in its Q1 2024 report, to be published in mid-May.
Proximar Seafood is a Norwegian land-based farming company building and operating Japan's first large-scale Atlantic salmon farm. Its strategic location near Mount Fuji and a major fish market offers advantages in terms of cost and carbon footprint, but also in the farming itself, as the process uses high-quality groundwater, and the fresh salmon is harvested on the day of distribution. With an annual production capacity of 5,300 tons of head-on salmon (HOG), the first harvest is expected to be ready for Japanese consumers in Q3 2024.