Marubeni and Nippon expanding their RAS salmon farming business

Marubeni Corporation and Nippon Suisan (Europe) B.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Suisan Kaisha, have reached an agreement to jointly acquire 66.7% of the shares of Danish Salmon A/S as of April 15, 2020, and participate in the salmon farming business via the implementation of a recirculating aquaculture system.

The improvement of living standards in developing countries and growing health consciousness in developed countries are reflected in the continuing rise in demand for marine products. Nevertheless, as the production volume of world fisheries has been stable last 30 years, the growing demand will be met by aquaculture. Within this field, the sub-industry of salmon farming is regulated by geographical condition which causes a limit in its expansion. Therefore, the expansion of land-based salmon farming can be achieved through the use of a RAS, which is not limited by geographical conditions.

RAS is a farming method with the potential to minimize environmental impact by reducing both the risk of water pollution and the risk of escaped farmed fish. It is for these reasons that RAS is currently drawing attention as a future solution to a potential protein shortage caused by an increased global population.

Danish Salmon is the top-ranked company in the salmon RAS business, and one of the few companies with an already established RAS salmon farming method. Marubeni, along with Nissui, a company possessing substantial farming, have jointly acquired DS’s shares in order to grow their business in Europe, and for the purpose of expanding their RAS operation to countries outside of Europe as well.

Through this acquisition, Marubeni aims to satisfy the increasing global demand for seafood by providing a stable supply of sustainable seafood to consumers all over the world and contribute to solving the social challenge of increased protein demand.

Danish Salmon

• Official Name： Danish Salmon A/S
• Location： Hirthals, Denmark
• Established： 2009
• Business Description： Salmon farming, sales
• Farming Quantity： 1,000MT

Nissui Europe

• Official Name： Nippon Suisan(Europe) B.V.
• Loaction： Ouderkerk, The Netherlands
• Established： 1988
• Shareholder： Nippon Suisan Kaisha 100%