Video frame showing part of the fry transfer process to the tanks at Pure Salmon Japan's land-based facility.
Image: Alberto Jimenez Ollarzu LinkedIn profile / Pure Salmon Japan.
On May 14, 2026, the land-based salmon farming facility of Pure Salmon Japan in Tsu City, Mie Prefecture, saw the transfer of its first batch of eggs, marking the start of live biological operations for the aquaculture company. Now, we have learned that the first fish are already in their tanks, marking another significant milestone.
The clue was given by the company's Head of Operation, Alberto Jimenez Ollarzu, through a post on LinkedIn. "Two months ago, the arrival of our first salmon eggs set Pure Salmon Japan's production in motion. Today, our first fish are already in their tanks, and the journey continues," he wrote.
"This progress represents years of planning, engineering, and collaboration to develop a RAS system carefully designed in every detail, supported by an extraordinary team that continues to grow stronger," he continued. "We continue moving forward, turning plans into operations and challenges into results," Jimenez added.
In addition, Pure Salmon Japan's Head of Operation shared a video showing part of the process. Alberto Jimenez Ollarzu also used the post to congratulate and thank everyone who, directly or indirectly, contributed to achieving this milestone.
Pure Salmon facility in Tsu City—formerly known as Soul of Japan and part of 8F Asset Management's portfolio—is set to become Japan's largest land-based Atlantic salmon farm. As the company has explained previously, construction and development activities are ongoing as the project moves toward phased completion and future full-scale production operations.
Once completed, the plant will produce high-quality Atlantic salmon for the Japanese market using a land-based recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) developed by its sister company, Pure Salmon Technology, which provides antibiotic-free salmon in a biosecure environment, protected from marine contaminants, viruses, and parasites.
According to information provided by the company last May, the initial stocking consisted of approximately 250,000 Atlantic salmon eggs from certified stock. Once the incubation phase is complete and the fry have been transferred, this will be the environment in which this first batch of Pure Salmon Japan will be raised.
Once completed, the facility is expected to have a production capacity of 10,000 tons. This aligns with Japan's growing political focus on improving food security and promoting domestic seafood production through sustainable aquaculture solutions, thereby reducing dependence on long-distance imports.
To achieve this, the company recently secured a new investment of USD 180 million led by funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group, which added to the USD 460 million 8F Asset Management raised in January 2025 from institutional, sovereign, and family office investors—including both existing 8F investors and new local Japanese investors—when the project was still called Soul of Japan.
In July 2025, the real estate company Mori Trust Co., Ltd., also joined the project as a strategic investor, investing in 8F Aquaculture Fund Japan I LP, the venture capital fund managed by 8F Asset Management that backs this land-based salmon farm.
As Pier Paolo Sfara, Chief Investment Officer at 8F Asset Management, pointed out last May following the transfer of the first batch of eggs, Japan is a strategically important market for the Pure Salmon platform. Therefore, every step forward achieved in live biological operations is a significant step towards delivering on locally produced, sustainable salmon at scale.
In announcing this new milestone for the company yesterday, the company's Head of Operation, Alberto Jimenez Ollarzu, continued that same idea in the last sentence of his LinkedIn post: "Pure Salmon Japan — let's keep moving forward."
