Nutreco invested in Dutch company Kingfish Zeeland, which aims to bring supplies of yellowtail kingfish to the U.S. and European markets through a proprietary recirculating aquaculture system (RAS). The investment underlines Nutreco’s ongoing commitment to Feeding the Future, the company’s mission to produce enough nutritious and high-quality food for a growing population in a sustainable way.
“Nutreco’s ambition is to continue to invest and partner with leaders in sustainable protein production around the globe,” said Nutreco CEO, Rob Koremans. “This investment fits well with our strategy to play a leading role in the development of sustainable solutions to fulfill our mission. Over the past few years, it has become clear that the growing demand for seafood calls for the development of alternative farming models such as RAS to complement the existing aquaculture methods,” said Koremans.
Yellowtail kingfish is a premium fish species traditionally used in Japanese and Italian cuisine. In the U.S. and Europe, supplies of the species are constrained with negligible local production. Established in 2015, Kingfish Zeeland offers locally produced, ultra-fresh, ASC/BAP certified yellowtail kingfish raised through RAS.
This strategic funding round will enable Kingfish Zeeland to double their current production capacity of 500 tons per year, as well as prepare for their next steps towards large-scale production across both the U.S. and Europe. Nutreco is taking part in this investment round together with several other investors, including France based Creadev and Netherlands-based Rabobank Corporate Investments.
In addition to the investment, the companies will also cooperate on further development of RAS feeds. CEO of Skretting, Nutreco’s aquaculture division, and Nutreco COO Therese Log Bergjord said that “Skretting is a world leading partner for RAS producers. Kingfish Zeeland’s knowledge of farming yellowtail kingfish in RAS coupled with our expertise on high-quality RAS feeds will help further integrate farming and feed solutions towards optimal fish performance, and will help further develop this highly sustainable form of aquaculture.”
Skretting is currently delivering juvenile feed to Kingfish Zeeland operations and the companies will be working towards broader cooperation on the feed moving forward.
