Nordic Aqua Partners cashes in on China's hunger for bigger fish
Farmer switches to higher target weight after batch of 7.5kg salmon fetched an extra 20% per kilo
China land-based salmon farmer Nordic Aqua Partners (NOAP) is changing its production strategy to grow bigger fish that are more attractive to the country’s high-end market.
The decision comes six weeks after NOAP resumed commercial sales from its facility in Gaotang, near Shanghai, following a pause to resolve issues with geosmin, which gives fish an “off-flavour”.
NOAP said in a market announcement that since resuming sales it had attained prices approximately 20% higher than the global Atlantic salmon price achieved by Norwegian producers during the same period.
NOK 18 premium
Andreas Thorud, general manager of NOAP’s operations in China, said: “The robust pricing - amounting to a premium of nearly NOK 18.00 (£1.33 per kilo) to export prices for Norwegian salmon during the period - has been supported by Nordic Aqua’s harvest of fish with an average size of 6.2 kg head-on-gutted (HOG), equivalent to 7.5 kg live weight (LW).
“We anticipate that our market position will further strengthen throughout 2025 and 2026, as we establish our reputation as a unique localised Norwegian supplier of large, super-fresh, high-quality Atlantic salmon.”
7kg target weight
NOAP said that to meet demand in the attractive high-end market in China, directors had decided to adjust production from a target weight of 5.3 kg (LW) to 7.0 kg (LW).
“This shift to the production of large salmon will allow NOAP to target the top segment of Chinese salmon,” said chief executive Ragnar Joensen. “The facility in Gaotang, constructed by AKVA Group, has consistently demonstrated excellent operational performance including the ability to produce fish of 7.0 kg (LW) at commercial scale.”
NOAP said the transition will require the company to hold back some fish in 2025 to increase the overall biomass size. As a result, NOAP expects to harvest 3,000 tonnes (HOG) in 2025. However, the harvest for the 12-month period ending March 2026 is expected at approximately 4,200 tonnes (HOG).
The harvest volume for the full year of 2026 is estimated at 6,400 tonnes (HOG). Further, run-rate harvest volumes, when Stage 2 is fully operational, are expected at 8,400 tonnes (HOG).
