News Industry update
Mitsubishi partners with seafood firm in RAS salmon project

Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi Corp., and seafood company Maruha Nichiro Corporation are working together on a venture to develop a land-based, salmon production facility using recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) technology in the coastal city of Toyoma, in Japan’s main island Honshu.

The aim of the project is to create a local-production-for-local-consumption business model in Japan’s salmon industry.

A recent agreement between the two corporations resulted in the creation of a joint venture company named ATLAND Corporation. The new company aims to establish a presence in Nyuzen town of Toyama prefecture by  October 2022.

The planned land-based aquaculture facility will have a capacity of 2,500 tons (live weight equivalent). Operations in the facility is expected to begin in 2025 and the facility’s first delivery will be in 2027.

Mitsubishi and Maruha Nichiro have been discussing the joint promotion of this project since March 2021. This project is expected to help develop a sustainable and stable land-based production system, efficient digital-tech-based operations, local production for local consumption, and progress in decarbonization.

According to ATLAND,  its business model is expected to produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to the practice of importing fresh salmon to Japan by air from salmon-farming countries.