Japan's Nissui accelerates push into 10,000-tonne salmon farming

Against the backdrop of sharply declining wild salmon resources, Japan's veteran seafood giant Nippon Suisan Kaisha (Nissui) is accelerating its shift from a "fishing era" to a "farming era." The company recently announced that it will achieve a 10,000-tonne-scale salmon farming operation by 2030, making a full-scale entry into the farmed salmon industry.

According to Nissui's announcement, the company has been working with the Iwate Prefectural government and fisheries cooperatives since 2020 to conduct salmon farming trials in two sea areas. Now Nissui has decided to advance a new project—partnering with the "Okirai Fisheries Cooperative" to launch a new round of trial farming in the waters off Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture, paving the way for "full commercial farming." The project will begin site selection and production method assessments next month, with the goal of "achieving full-scale operations as soon as possible."

Nissui's farming footprint is already gradually taking shape in Japan's Tohoku region. Its subsidiary Yumigahama Suisan already operates bases in Sakaiminato City, Tottori Prefecture, and Sado City, Niigata Prefecture. The company entered Otsuchi Town, Iwate Prefecture, in 2022, and launched a trial farming project in Rikuzentakata City in 2023. The new plan in Ofunato City will be an important link connecting its multi-point layout along Japan's Pacific coast.

In its statement, Nissui said the group aims to achieve rapid business expansion through "efficient, stable production of high-quality farmed salmon." At the same time, the project will also help revive the local economy and create new employment opportunities for the community.

The "Okirai fishing grounds" in Ofunato City are known for their naturally calm bay environment; the area was originally known for farming seaweed, scallops and sea squirts, and is now also considered ideal waters for salmon farming. As the trial farming progresses, Nissui plans to gradually build a comprehensive farming system in the future, forming a full industry chain model "from broodstock breeding to processing and export."

Over the past few years, Japan's wild salmon catch has continued to decline and is now less than one-tenth of its peak. The industry widely believes this trend is forcing Japan's major fisheries groups to shift toward farming. Nissui's move may prove to be a turning point for Japan's seafood industry—from a fishing nation dependent on natural resources to a sustainable farming nation driven by technology and management.

As global salmon demand continues to grow and Asian markets (especially China and South Korea) show strong demand for high-quality salmon, Nissui's farming plan is not only an extension of its "domestic food source strategy" but also an important step in capturing the regional high-end protein market. Whether Japanese salmon can regain competitiveness in the international market may depend on the success or failure of this "blue transformation."