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Japanese railway company ventures into RAS with trial salmon project in Kumamoto

Japan’s Shikoku Railway Company announced it will begin a trial salmon farming project in Kumamoto Prefecture in August.

Salmon Business reported that the company wants to focus on a cost-effective freshwater farming system developed by Hirayama Co. in Yatsushiro City, Kumamoto Prefecture, which utilizes groundwater flowthrough tanks.

The company’s president, Kazuyuki Shinomura announced this at a press conference and expressed his ambition to nurture this new growth opportunity.

JR Shikoku will install six tanks on its premises to rear king salmon juveniles, with plans to ship the fish in December. The company plans to select suitable locations within Shikoku by the end of the fiscal year and aims to establish three operational sites by 2030, targeting ¥100 million ($680,640) as its annual sales.

The locations will be abundant in water resources, with the potential for branding such as “Niyodo River Salmon” in Kochi, highlighting the area’s clean streams. 

The Shikoku Railway Company, commonly known as JR Shikoku, is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It has been expanding its non-railway businesses such as hotels and real estate and identified salmon farming as an opportunity. It’s also looking into the idea of shrimp farming.

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