Response to Climate Change

Reducing CO2 Emissions

Background

The group engages in business globally centered on salmon trout based on a vertically integrated business model spanning upstream to downstream. The salmon trout and other seafood that we offer are produced in areas far away from consumer markets. For this reason, a large amount of CO2 emissions are produced during the transport of our products to market.

The group’s Initiatives

Reduction of CO2 emissions by expanding the domestic aquaculture catch

According to the 2017 Fisheries White Paper, the market for salmon and trout in Japan for raw consumption totals about 100,000 tons, but most of this is imported from overseas. In particular, to import fresh fish without freezing, there is no choice but to rely on air transportation, which emits a large amount of CO2. We will continue to increase the proportion of domestically produced salmon trout in order to improve the domestic self-sufficiency rate for this fish. As a result, we think that this will lead to the reduction of CO2 emissions during transportation.

Additionally, in Southeast Asia where the demand for salmon and trout is strong, most imports come from Scandinavia and South America. We believe that we can contribute to reducing CO2 emissions by increasing the domestic aquaculture production of the Group and increasing supply from Japan, which is closer to Southeast Asia.

Trend in the Group’s Domestic Harvest

Reduction of energy consumption from feeding work

In the past, feeding required several small boats to travel back and forth to the cages every day, and the engines had to run for a long time for feeding.

The introduction of barges has reduced the number of round-trips to the cages, which has reduced the amount of energy used per unit of aquaculture.

Diesel Usage per Unit of Production

Absorption of CO2 through seaweed aquaculture

As a measure against blue carbon (carbon in the sea), we have started a trial initiative for farming wakame seaweed. Wakame is a species of kelp native to cold, temperate coasts of the northwest Pacific Ocean. Wakame absorbs CO2 dissolved in the sea, carries out photosynthesis, and releases oxygen. At the same time, carbon accumulates in wakame seaweed and remains on the seabed for a long time after it dies, where it is sequestered. As the amount of wakame increases, more and more CO2 will be sequestered, which is expected to benefit the health of the ocean.

The Group collected wakame seaweed seedlings in May 2023, started farming the seaweed using offshore aquaculture from November 2023, and harvested it in March 2024. In the current fiscal year, we are continuing experimental aquaculture on the same scale. We hope to make steady progress step by step and develop this into a major venture in the future.

Acquisition of ASC and MSC Certifications

The Group has acquired the following certifications related to aquaculture and fisheries.

	ASC certification	MSC certification
Okamura Foods Aomori Head Office	ASC-C-02123	MSC-C-51492
Okamura Foods Tokyo Head Office	ASC-C-01295-1	MSC-C-55616
Japan Salmon Farm Inc.	ASC-C-03543 ASC00219*	－
Musholm A/S Loejstrup Dambrug A/S	ASC-C-01242 ASC00332*	MSC-C-55521
Okamura Trading Myanmar	ASC-C-01295-2	－

Note: Certification numbers followed by an* are Farm certifications.
The other numbers are CoC certifications.

ASC certification is an international certification regime for aquaculture administered by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council. MSC certification is an international certification regime for the fishing industry administered by the Marine Stewardship Council. Chain of Custody (CoC) certification is a system that authenticates that certified marine products (MSC or ASC certified) are properly managed in all processes of manufacturing, processing, and distribution and that there is no contamination of non-certified raw materials or falsification of labels.

Farm certification is a certification that certifies that aquaculture is carried out in accordance with the standards established by the ASC.

All of these certification regimes are designed to promote sustainable fisheries and aquaculture that are considerate of fisheries resources, the environment, and society.

Each certification regime promotes sustainable fisheries and aquaculture industries by preventing pollution of the natural environment and excessive use of resources. If we do not engage in aquaculture and fishing that are environmentally and socially friendly, we will no longer be able to supply seafood sustainably. The group aims to provide a stable supply of seafood in the future through the expanded acquisition of these certifications.
Click here to learn more about ASC certification.

Environmental