Research & Development

In order to promote Japan's first large-scale salmon trout farming, the Company is conducting R&D and other activities in collaboration with universities and other research institutions as well as outside private companies. In the domestic processing, overseas processing, and overseas wholesale businesses, the Company does not engage in so-called R&D activities, although it continues to develop new products.

Policies and objectives of research and development activities

In 2015, we started Japan's first large-scale salmon trout aquaculture in Aomori Prefecture in order to sustainably supply marine resources under our mission to "To supply healthy seafood to the people of the world in a responsible way with respect for nature". In 2018, Aomori salmon were fully landed, and in 2019, the company acquired ASC certification, an international certification system for aquaculture administered by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, which continues to this day. We believe that the domestic aquaculture business itself is still in the early stages of research, and that we are at a stage where investments should be made from a long-term perspective rather than short-term profits. We intend to continue to actively conduct research and development to preserve the natural environment of the oceans and support the livelihood of people involved in the aquaculture industry, while continuing to supply high-quality salmon to the world.

Purpose of the Study

The bottleneck in continuing to supply the world with high quality salmon is intermediate fish farming. In other words, there are only a limited number of suitable locations for intermediate fish farms, and the lack of intermediate fish farms is a bottleneck in the current method. One of the main objectives of our research and development is to find a way to overcome the problem of the shortage of intermediate fish farms.
Another major challenge is how to cope with the effects of climate change. One of the objectives of our research is to establish a system to cope with rising sea temperatures and to ensure safe and stable feeding even in unfavorable weather conditions.
We are also conducting research to develop aquaculture-related systems and feedstuffs to supply high-quality salmon at lower prices.

Key issue

Research and development of outdoor circulation type large scale intermediate breeding fish high density production system

In order to solve the problems of the indoor circulation type intermediate growing fish production system (conventional technology), we are continuing to develop a new technology, the first of its kind in Japan: an outdoor circulation type large-scale intermediate growing fish density production system.
A bottleneck in domestic salmon aquaculture is the insufficient supply of intermediate rearing fish, which are essential for marine production. In order to solve this bottleneck, this research and development project combines the advantages of the high-density aquaculture technology system, the oxygen supply automation system using IoT, and the conventional technology (which enables circulating production indoors with a small amount of water resources) to realize a system that enables year-long production even in outdoor water environments with large temperature differences, low-cost production of intermediate rearing fish, and mass production. The goal is to establish Japan's first new technology that enables low-cost production and mass-production of fish even in outdoor water environments with large temperature differences.

At present, a pilot plant is being designed and built by the company from 2019 to 2020, and intermediate fish reared at the plant will be shipped to sea production in 2020. The amount of fish reared has been gradually increased since then, and research is ongoing on improving feed, aquaculture technology and operational costs to achieve better intermediate fish and more efficient and environmentally friendly aquaculture, with a view to expanding the plant for further mass production.
Research and development of large-scale sea surface aquaculture production of large salmon trout utilizing barges

In the past, Japan Salmon Farm used proximity feeding by fishing vessels. In other words, a fishing boat is used to feed fish while visually monitoring them at sea and in the water, in close proximity to the fish tanks for marine aquaculture. However, this method of feeding has the risk of inadequate feeding in bad weather and difficulty in ensuring the safety of employees, in addition to the difficulty in achieving economies of scale through large-scale operations.
To solve these problems, research and development of a remote production management system using barges was carried out, and in 2022, barges were introduced and put into operation with funding from the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Industry Mirai Fund. Research will continue to be conducted to improve the sophistication and efficiency of the operation.
Feed development for sustainable and environmentally friendly aquaculture

We are actually working as a leading company in sustainable aquaculture, having obtained ASC certification for the first time in Japan in the fourth year since our trial aquaculture, despite being a newcomer to salmon aquaculture. In this context, we are working with various feed manufacturers to create more sustainable and environmentally friendly feeds with a view to future large-scale aquaculture, and we are making steady progress in improving feeding efficiency and lowering the fishmeal ratio based on wild-caught fish. We plan to continue our research and development efforts in this direction.

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