Benchmark Genetics will supply land-based salmon project Proximar with salmon ova for its production in Japan with the first eggs to be delivered from our facility in Iceland. Proximar is a Norwegian industry expert producing quality Atlantic salmon in the land-based farming facility at the foot of Mt. Fuji in Japan.
Proximar is pleased to announce the signing of a framework agreement with Benchmark as the supplier of salmon eggs to the company’s production in Japan, confirming progress towards the targeted production capacity of 5,300 tons HOG, supplying the first fish from its land-based production facility to the Japanese market in 2024. The framework agreement secures Proximar the required volumes for stage 1 and covers future expansion. The agreement has an initial term of 3 years with automatic renewal.
The first delivery of the salmon to the Japanese market is expected in 2024.
«Proximar is on its way into the Japanese market, where quality is especially important. With the increasing number of land-based facilities, ensuring quality eggs is a key issue. Our agreement with Benchmark Genetics ensures us stable deliveries throughout the year», says Joachim Nielsen, CEO of Proximar.
As part of the agreement, we will also provide relevant technical support by allocating a designated member to our Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). We are therefore very pleased to announce the member from Benchmark to join our TAC, Dr. Andrew Preston, Global Technical Manager for RAS at Benchmark.
Dr. Preston has deep insight and very relevant experience after working more than 3 years for AquaMaof, where he held the position as Head of Aquaculture Production and worked closely with the operations in Poland, farming Atlantic salmon. Prior to joining AquaMaof, he worked at the University of Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture.
“We are very satisfied that we have been able to secure this long-term agreement and strategic collaboration with Proximar Seafood”, says Commercial Director in Benchmark Genetics, Geir Olav Melingen, and continues: “Benchmark holds a unique position in the global land-based market, with 30 years’ experience from the land-based production in Iceland. The last year we have also strengthened the technical support towards this growing segment, which was an important part of the agreement”.
For more than 4 years, AquaMaof’s salmon center in Poland has been producing Atlantic salmon and harvesting steadily market size fish for the last 2 years. The growth rates achieved are in line with Proximar’s production plan of around 22 months from egg to market size. The production is operating at commercial conditions when it comes to densities etc, and with mortality levels below 5% for the post-smolt grow-out period. The fish also scores high on tasting panels with positive feedback regarding taste, color, and texture. Aqua Maof has also been testing the performance of all-female and triploid eggs from Benchmark in its facility in Poland, showing very good and consistent performance.
“We are extremely proud of what has been achieved at the AquaMaof salmon center in Poland in the last four years,” says David Hazut, CEO of AquaMaof. “It has proven the capability of our technology to consistently produce smolts and harvest-size Atlantic salmon on land, under commercial conditions.
We have been using this facility as a testbed for continuous optimization of the production parameters of our technology. However, the basic process design has remained unchanged over the years. Using simple and low complexity solutions reduces the risks of failure in operations. We are also pleased to see the technology working very well with the eggs from Benchmark.”
