A sample of fish from the Proximar Seafood facilities in Japan.

Land-based salmon producer triples its biomass in three months and secures first order

Proximar Seafood had a standing biomass of 360 tons at the end of the second quarter of this year, more than three times the 112 tons it had at the end of the first quarter in Japan.

"We are very pleased to see that the positive development of our biomass continues until the second quarter of 2024. The water quality remains good, which is again reflected in our growth curves," said Proximar's CEO, Joachim Nielsen, in a stock exchange statement, adding that they still record low natural mortality.

Proximar had a standing biomass of 360 tons at the end of the second quarter of this year, more than three times the 112 tons it had at the end of the first quarter, in Japan.

"Our first batch has an average weight of more than 3.25 kilograms and we are still on track for the first harvest in September. We continue to sample to check the quality and flavor, and both internal and external feedback are very positive," stated the executive.

Sales Agreement

Joachim Nielsen.

Currently, the company has 15 batches and around 1.6 million specimens in production. The long-term harvest goal for Proximar is 5,300 tons annually in phase 1.

In addition, Proximar announced that it has closed its first sales agreement, which guarantees a fixed price per kilogram for a part of the harvested volume for 2024. The achieved price is in line with the expectations and the benchmark of the company, and also reflects a higher price compared to the cost of salmon imported from Norway. 

It is expected that the sales agreement will cover approximately one third of the expected harvest volume for this year.

"We are very pleased to have achieved a sale price in line with our expectations for a significant portion of our harvest volume for 2024. This is an important milestone for us and demonstrates our business model and our significant cost advantage," emphasized Nielsen.

Good comments

The CEO of Proximar highlighted that the client is a high-end chain focused on seafood products.

"This also represents great value for us in terms of brand and marketing. We are very satisfied with the effort of the Marubeni distributor in the sales work, which is clearly demonstrated through the signed agreement," he stated.

Proximar reported that a test fish of approximately 4.8 kg, which was sent to the client for taste testing and quality control, received very positive feedback. Marubeni is experiencing strong interest in Proximar salmon and there are several other ongoing discussions.