Proximar Seafood AS announced this major milestone agreement. Marubeni Corporation and Proximar Seafood AS have reached an agreement that Marubeni will be the exclusive distributor in Japan for all the Atlantic salmon produced by the closed recirculating aquaculture system which Proximar is constructing in Japan. The facility is located close to Mount Fuji outside Tokyo and will be supplying fish to the market from mid-2024.

The agreement covers sales of all volumes produced by Proximar for the Japanese market and has an initial term of 10 years. Both parties will be actively involved in the marketing efforts, with the aim to build a strong premium sustainable seafood brand. Worldwide demand for salmon is expected to increase due to population growth, the improved dietary quality mainly in emerging economies, and increasing health consciousness in developed countries.

However, the supply of wild and sea-farmed salmon is coming to a head in terms of ecosystem protection and the lack of suitable areas for sea-farming. Under these circumstances, the RAS technology, which is not geographically restricted and has a low environmental load in terms of water pollution and run-off of farmed fish, is expected to be one way to ensure a sustainable and stable supply of seafood products. In Japan, the demand for Atlantic salmon is growing, and Japanese consumers have a strong preference for freshness and appreciation of local produce.

In recent years, consumer awareness related to sustainability has also been increasing. The specific location of Proximar's land-based RAS facility is Oyama-cho, Shizuoka Prefecture, and will be Japan's first large RAS plant to produce Atlantic salmon. The annual demand for Atlantic salmon in Japan is approximately 60,000 tons.

The construction of Proximar's facility will be completed in 2023 and its hatchery will start operation from third quarter 2022, with harvesting to begin from mid-2024. For 2024, the expected harvested volume is around 2,500 tons (head on gutted weight), increasing to targeted 5,300 tons (head on gutted weight) when operating at full capacity in 2027.