Proximar Seafood has confirmed that today 28 October 2022 the first eggs were successfully inserted into the company's hatchery in Oyama, Japan. Around 125,000 eggs and the ova arrived at the hatchery in excellent condition.
Besides, Benchmark Genetics supplied the eggs and their Icelandic StofnFiskur breeding program. These have shown great performance in land-based facilities, including AquaMaof's R&D facility in Poland.
"After meticulous preparations, it is wonderful to finally initiate production. The team is ready, the facility is perfect. We have everything we need to provide ideal hatching and growth conditions," says Dharma Rajeswaran, COO of Proximar.
This egg insertion marks the starting point for farming Atlantic Salmon in Japan, giving Proximar a significant first-mover advantage. Proximar will insert similar batches into the hatchery each month going forward, enabling continuous harvest from medio 2024.
"The moment we have all been waiting for has finally arrived. I see it as a great achievement for our organization and suppliers to complete the facility by the ambitious timeline. Considering issues such as covid-19 and a global shortage of raw material," says Joachim Nielsen, CEO of Proximar.
"The production start is a major milestone for the company. Also, a significant step towards providing the Japanese people with sustainably produced seafood," concludes Nielsen.
While production has been initiated in the Hatchery and Nursery building, the Post Smolt Grow out the facility is still under construction. This is to a large degree repetition of work already undertaken.
Proximar Seafood is a Norwegian salmon farming company. Through land-based fish farming, using high-quality groundwater secured close to Mount Fuji, the company will produce fresh Atlantic Salmon, harvested the same day.
The target capacity is an annual head-on-gutted (HOG) volume of 5,300 tonnes. Proximar's location, near one of the world's most important fish markets, implies significant advantages, both in terms of reduced cost and carbon footprint.
