Trout farmer poised for international expansion after investment from Cermaq owner Mitsubishi

Finnish land-based rainbow trout farmer Finnforel is to accelerate new projects globally following an investment from Japanese industrial heavyweight Mitsubishi Corporation, with owns the world’s third largest Atlantic salmon farmer, Cermaq.

Founded in 2015, Finnforel has a broodstock facility and hatchery at Hollola, around 75 miles north of Helsinki, and produces around 3,000 tonnes of trout at its Gigafactory at Varkhaus, 150 miles north of Hollola. Fish are slaughtered, processed and packaged at the plant.

The company uses feed produced by Alltech Fennoaqua in Raisio, Finland.

In a press release, the company said a high degree of vertical integration from hatchery to farming and packaging enabled it to achieve significant efficiency and scale, demonstrated in its ambition to multiply its capacity through global expansion by 2032.

Strategic partners

Co-founder and chief executive Pekka A. Viljakainen said: “Finnforel’s mission is to save the seas and feed the planet. This huge mission requires strategic partners and shareholders, with whom we can deploy our technological and operational knowledge to all continents.

“I believe that in future RAS will play a crucial role in enhancing food security by enabling efficient, sustainable, and reliable production of fish where excess nutrition and waste will not end up in the seas. That is why we developed our Finnforel Gigafactory with 0% waste policy, to be implemented there where the consumers are.

“We are very proud to have Mitsubishi, with its global distribution channels, talent and resources, support Finnforel’s journey.”

Akihiko Soga, chief operating officer for Mitsubishi’s marine products division, said: “We deeply empathise with Finnforel’s vision to develop sustainable protein supply through their gigafactory concept, in which they handle feed, manufacturing, farming, processing and product branding integrally. Mitsubishi Corporation will continue to strengthen our farming business and contribute to sustainable supply of food resources and addressing societal needs.”

According to figures from Kontali used in Mowi’s Salmon Farming Industry Handbook, Cermaq produced 174,000 gutted weight tonnes of Atlantic salmon in marine sites last year: 88,000 gwt in Norway, 80,000 gwt in Chile, and 6,000 gwt in Canada (British Columbia).