Two new land-based trout aquaculture projects underway in Japan are partnerships between an infrastructure company, a seafood distributor, and a trout hatchery.
JR West, a regional railway that was spun off in the breakup of Japan Railways (formerly the state-owned Japan National Railways) is backing the development of a new brand called “Crown Salmon.” The fish are farmed in rural Kurayoshi City, Tottori Prefecture by Koizumikawa Trout Farm and shipped live to Osaka.
Koizumikawa was established in 1968 as a local hatchery and recreational fishing facility raising rainbow trout, whitespotted char, yamame trout (oncorhynchus masou ishikawae), and coho salmon.
It is the company's rainbow trout that is being branded as “Crown Salmon.” In Japan, ocean-raised rainbow trout imported from Chile is often sold as “salmon-trout,” though sport fishers angling in Japanese rivers would refer to the freshwater fish by the Japanese name of “niji-masu,” a literal translation of “rainbow trout.”
“Crown Salmon” trout are raised organically in ponds fed by spring water at an elevation of 350 meters above sea level. It takes three years for the trout to reach a market weight of two to three kilograms. Juvenile fish were previously sold by the hatchery for stocking ocean-pen fish farms, but this business has lagged amid the pandemic, leading to overstock. The selling point of the branded fish is that they will be transported live to the Kansai area so that they can be processed and delivered without freezing, which JR claims is noticeable in the taste of the finished product.
Beginning in April, Crown Salmon is being sold through three companies: Daiki Suisan rotary sushi chain’s Osaka stores, Kyoto fish shop Uoki (Seibu Ikebukuro store), and at three shops of Edo-mae Conveyor Belt Sushi Toretoreya in Osaka and Hyogo prefectures. Daiki Suisan is the contact for distribution.
Crown Salmon is part of a line of branded aquaculture products being promoted by JR West under the “PROFISH Premium Organic Fish” name. These include mackerel, oysters, cherry salmon, black tiger shrimp, tiger pufferfish, and flounder.
Separately, Kyushu Electric Power is teaming up with fish-paste product maker Nichimo, West Japan Plant Industry, and Idouchi Salmon Farm on a farmed trout venture.
Idouchi Salmon Farm currently breeds Donaldson trout (a mixture of rainbow, cutthroat, and steelhead trout), which it sells under the “Oku-Hyuga Salmon” brand. It also breeds “Nishimera Salmon,” a cross between Donaldson trout and white spotted char. “Miyama Salmon” appears to be a triploid rainbow trout.
For now, the companies are evaluating the feasibility of constructing an initial land-based recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility with a 300-metric-ton (MT) annual production capacity. This could later be expanded to 3,000 MT. The fish would be sold under the brand “Mirai Salmon."
Photo courtesy of Kyushu Electric Power Co.
