Nordic Aqua Partners to establish China’s first salmon farming facility

Nordic Aqua Partners A/S is about to establish China’s first land based salmon farm. The Nordic countries had land based salmon and trout farms long before it became an option to establish salmon farming in the open ocean.

Nordic Aqua Partners A/S  is headquartered in Denmark but owns a subsidiary in Ningbo, China, thorugh which Nordic Aqua Partners A/S has invested in the construction of the large aquaculture facility located south of the Chinese million-strong city of Ningbo in Zhejiang which began in spring this year.

The company Nordic Aqua Partners A/S was founded by Danish Ole Jørgensen and Norwegian Ove Nodland in 2016, with address in Ole Jørgensen company domicile (formerly Ribe Maskinfabrik now AH Industries) and the two Scandinavians have since patiently worked on the project to establish a large land-based aquaculture facility for farming salmon in China.

The people of China have a love for salmon, preferably Norwegian and Faroese salmon that needs to be imported but in the future Ole Jørgensen and Ove Nodland plans to provide the giant Chinese market with live and local farmed salmon. It is the world’s first salmon farming facility in China and with the country being the world’s largest fish market, the potential is gigantic.

Ole Jørgensen have long been a pioneer and were amongst the first Danes to start doing business in China almost 20 years ago. He has now used his experience and network to pave the way for the salmon project in China. Norwegian Ove Nodland, who lives in China is originally the man behind the idea of farming Salmon in China and through his connections with the local government in his town of residence Ningbo, China he has helped make the project happen. The project is also based on efforts from the Chinese central government in Beijing.

Nordic Aqua Partners has also put together a strong team of excellence with, among others, Ragnar Joensen, longtime front figure at the world leading salmon producer Marine Harvest, as chairman of the board.

Ragnar Joensen has spoken about the large potential of the Chinese project and said, amongst other things, in a press release:

“The prospects for land-based farmed salmon in China are far-reaching, and we are all very excited and optimistic about being the first engine in the world’s largest fish market and for Nordic Aqua Partners’ potential. With the amazing support of our staff, investors, banking syndicate, Chinese government and advisers, we are finally in the process of writing history. Now the company is ready to realize a fantastic project in China, and in less than three years we will supply really fresh high quality and tasty salmon in the Chinese market”.

Ole Jørgensen expects it will take around three years before the first salmon can be caught and packed for the Chinese consumers. The project will begin other parts of its establishment including training of the employees in spring next year and the first step of the project is estimated at 4,000 tons of salmon annually in 2023. This will happen with a supply of a so-called RAS system, which is a fully recycled farming system without wastewater discharge supplied by the significant shareholders in Nordic Aqua Partners, Norwegian equipment supplier Akva Group and Nutreco, Dutch large producer of animal feed and fish feed.

The steps ahead of 2023 with the next construction phase will yield 8,000 tons in 2027 and the long-term target is 40,000 tons on the same property.

In the longer run, Nordic Aqua Partners sees further opportunities for facilities near other parts of China, and with an already existing agreement with a buyer, the potential is a billion-dollar business in the giant Chinese market.

Nordic Aqua Partners now faces the challenges of being the first ever to succeed in raising salmon in a land-based Chinese facility. As salmon being a predatory fish, there are key factors to be aware of, one of them being not to expose the salmon to stress in the facility pools because this will prevent the fish from eating. However, Ole Jørgensen is optimistic and says, “A team has been set up with very large capacities, which are those all over the world who know the most about salmon farming. They see a very clear potential, and I am optimistic.”

Source: JydskeVestkysten