8.3 NuFrontiers - Investment in Nordic Aqua Partners (NAP) to establish China's first land-based salmon farm at commercial scale

In 2020, Nutreco’s strategic innovation and investment team NuFrontiers invested in the Scandinavian company Nordic Aqua Partners (NAP), which plans to bring ultra-fresh supplies of Atlantic salmon to Chinese consumers using recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) technology farming.

Located in Ningbo, a major city near Shanghai of more than 10 million people in east China's Zhejiang province, NAP’s facility will raise Atlantic salmon through all production stages from the hatching of imported eggs to on-growing, harvesting, processing and distribution of full-grown salmon for local consumption.

NAP’s first facility is designed with an initial annual capacity of 8,000 tonnes of head-on gutted salmon, with expansion potential for up to 16,000 tonnes. It means that NAP is well positioned to tap into China’s large and fast growing 100,000-tonne salmon market, which is also expected to grow by more than 10% annually.

“As a global population, we have reached or exceeded sustainable limits of fishing of many species for human consumption and other uses. Aquaculture in RAS provides an additional sustainable and safe way to increase the amount of fish available. For Nutreco, supporting RAS directly supports our purpose of Feeding the Future in a way that is better for the planet. I’m delighted that we’ll be working together with NAP in China. From the facility in Ningbo, we will be able to bring fresh, high-quality, Atlantic salmon to millions of Chinese consumers within hours of harvest, reducing the shipping impact on the environment.”
Rob Koremans, Nutreco CEO

Today, China is entirely dependent on imported salmon, much of which is supplied fresh by airfreight from traditional salmon farming regions, leaving a substantial carbon footprint linked to transportation alone. For fresh salmon delivered to wholesalers in Shanghai from Norway, airfreight is by far the single largest contributor of greenhouse gases – representing over half of total emissions. By producing locally, some of the Chinese demand can be met with a lower carbon footprint and longer shelf-life than imported salmon.

In addition, the RAS technology allows NAP to produce salmon entirely in closed containment without the use of any antibiotics or chemicals, and with zero risk of sea lice, leading to a marked improvement in fish welfare. NAP’s facility is designed with the latest advances in RAS technology, with very limited water exchange and continuous cleansing of water and filtration of biological matter that would otherwise impact the local environment. NAP will also explore the potential of having own solar panels and biogas driven generators in its energy mix.

Feed will be supplied from Skretting China’s new factory, currently under construction in Jiangsu province, north of Shanghai, with close collaboration on feed optimisation and performance through a Technical Advisory Committee jointly set up together with NAP’s board and management team.

“The collaboration will allow Nutreco to further integrate farming and feed solutions towards optimal fish performance and will help further develop this highly sustainable form of aquaculture. It will also help us expand our learning about RAS and continue Skretting’s development of the best feed tailored for RAS systems.”
Viggo Halseth, Nutreco Chief Innovation Officer