Puerto Montt, Chile-based Patagonia King Salmon is looking to produce 100 metric tons (MT) of king salmon, also known as chinook salmon, over the next year, with production increasing to 500 MT by 2024. According to the company, the harvest will mark a milestone as the world’s first land-farmed chinook salmon.
Following four years of scientific research and testing, during which the company bred the fish from wild Patagonian stock, Patagonia King Salmon is preparing its first harvest from its state-of-the-art recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) located in the Chilean Patagonia. That harvest will go to “selective bidders” – high-end restaurants and prominent chefs – in the U.S., Japan, Singapore, Chile, Brazil, and Europe.
The company forms part of the holding Sealand Advanced Aquaculture, which was founded by industry veterans Oscar Gárate and Hans den Bieman. Gárate is a veterinarian who has provided technical services to the salmon industry focusing on production and health aspects, who previously served as technical director of Intesal and SalmonChile. In turn, den Bieman has over 30 years of aquaculture experience, having worked as regional manager for Nutreco in the U.S., general manager of Nutreco Chile, Nutreco’s COO of aquaculture, and CEO of Marine Harvest.
The feed for Patagonia King Salmon’s farm is provided by Natpro, another subsidiary of Sealand Advanced Aquaculture, which produces insect-based salmon feed. That feed together with the RAS land-based system puts the company at the forefront of the circular salmon farming movement, according to the executives.
“We like to call it forward farming, meaning we are on a journey to produce superlative quality fish with the least possible impact on the environment to meet future demand,” den Bieman said.
Sealand Aquaculture has worked for more than 10 years with Chilean salmon farmers Multi X (formerly known as Multiexport Foods) and Blumar, having produced more than 60 million Atlantic salmon smolt for each. The smolts have been transferred to over 120 sea sites in the south of Chile and have resulted in a harvest volume of more than 200,000 MT per company.
Photo courtesy of Patagonia King Salmon
