Recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) are the “way to go” for salmon production in China, according to Erik Tveteraas, head of investment at aquafeed and animal nutrition firm Nutreco.
Local sea temperatures around China make marine pen systems unsuitable, according Tveteraas, whose company has invested in Nordic Aqua Partners, which is constructing an RAS Atlantic salmon farm in Ningbo, China.
Tveteraas said he views RAS as “complementary and additive to existing net-pen farming, not disruptive or replacing [it].”
“However, for China specifically, I do not see Atlantic salmon as feasible in net-pen farming in the ocean at a meaningful scale. The Yellow Sea is too shallow, [has a] generally quite sandy bottom, and both average and summer water temperatures are too high, he said. “All of the above are conducive to high mortality, sub-optimal growth, poor fish health and welfare, and therefore poor production economics.”
The choice between RAS or open-sea pens for production of various species in China will “depend entirely on context, species, and local conditions,” Tveteraas said.
“We only invest in farms using novel alternative farming technologies, such as recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), closed containment ocean systems, and offshore farming. Conventional net-pen ocean farming, for example, is not part of our investment scope,” Tveteraas told SeafoodSource. “Our investment in China is based on bringing Nordic Aqua Partners’ technology and know-how to China, which is based on Nordic aquaculture technology.”
Tveteraas, who is speaking at the Blue Food Innovation Summit: Investing in Sustainable Aquaculture for Protein Security and Ocean Health in London, U.K. in June, sees Nutreco as having a niche competitiveness to bring to the Chinese market.
“[We have] decades worth of experience, products, and services tailored specifically for the novel farming methods … Customers and potential investors recognize this and see engagement with Nutreco as having a direct impact on increasing their chances of building successful, sustainable businesses.”
Tveteraas said he couldn’t generalize as to whether Nutreco’s investment model working in other species in aquaculture in China.
“That depends on the production economics, market pricing, and prevailing trade patterns of the species in question,” he said. “We supply most species but only invest in high-value commodity species such as Atlantic salmon, which in the case of China has no domestic competition and is entirely dependent on imports today.”
Photo courtesy of Nutreco
