Qingdao, China-based aquaculture player Guoxin Development Group said it expects to have its prototype Guoxin Number 1 salmon-farming vessel in operation by March 2022.
The 100,000-ton vessel is fitted with 15 tanks and feeding systems designed to exchange water constantly as the vessel moves around the Yellow Sea.
The state-owned group, which also uses the English name Qingdao Conson Development Group, hopes to ultimately produce 200,000 metric tons (MT) of seafood (comprised of salmon and yellow croaker) per year on fifty 100,000-ton vessels similar to the Guoxin Number 1, which is being built by the China State Shipbuilding Corp. To put that in context, China imported 90,000 MT of salmon in 2019. Guoxin recently signed a supply deal with Qingdao retailer Liqun, which is now selling whole salmon at its retail outlets across China.
The firm, which in the past year acquired the salmon-farming assets of Oriental Ocean and feed and tilapia player Baiyang, is aiming to establish itself as a leading player in China’s salmon market.
Separately, Guoxin Group Chairman Wang Jianhui announced a CNY 10 million (USD 1.5 million, EUR 1.3 million) prize fund for research into “deep-water and smart” aquaculture at the opening of a new Deep-Water Aquaculture Research Centre at the Hai Tian office tower in Qingdao. The academy is staffed by the China Fisheries Academy. In October, Guoxin opened the Marine Fish Nutrition and Feed Joint Research Center in Qingdao, established alongside the Ocean University of China.
Photo courtesy of Lanqing
