Entering the final phase before the first harvest

South Korean farmer Eco Aquafarm is continuing to scale up the country's first land-based Atlantic salmon farm. For now, it's also the only one with fish, but it will soon be joined by Mirae Aqua Farm.

Now the first fish at Eco Aquafarm have moved into the final growth phase before harvest, while production continues with seven batches in operation.

"Our most important achievement since last year is that we have completed the technical and quality verifications required before South Korea's first commercial land-based salmon harvest," Min Suk Kim, who works with planning and marketing at Eco Aquafarm, tells LandbasedAQ.

Eco Aquafarm began production of Atlantic salmon in July 2024. The facility has a capacity of around 500 tonnes per year, while the company has previously announced plans for significant expansion in later phases.

Approaching harvest

The first batch has now grown to around three kilograms and has been moved to RAS4, the final phase before harvest.

"We are well on our way to our first harvest of fish in the four to five kilogram size range in October," says Kim.

When LandbasedAQ.no wrote about Eco Aquafarm in January, Batch 1 had recently been moved to RAS3. Since then, the fish have continued through the production run, and the first individuals have reached the final growth phase.

The plan is still for the first commercial harvest to be carried out between the end of October and the beginning of November.

“The most important milestone towards harvest is to safely bring Batch 0 through the final growth phase and grow the fish from the current size of around three kilos to over four kilos. That is the size the market prefers,” says Kim.

He says that dialogue is already under way with major South Korean grocery players about the launch of the land-based salmon.

Seven batches in production

Eco Aquafarm now has seven batches in operation, including one research batch.

Batch 0 and Batch 1 are currently in RAS4, while Batch 2 is in RAS2. Batches 3 to 5 are being followed up in RAS1. The newest group, Batch 6, was put into the facility on June 5.

“This ensures that we can maintain continuous operation without downtime between batches,” says Kim.

In May, Eco Aquafarm conducted its first taste demonstration. The work in recent months has largely been about documentation and quality assurance before the planned commercial launch later this year.

Since then, the facility has achieved antibiotic-free certification. In June, the operation also received confirmation that geosmin, a substance that can give farmed fish an earthy taste and odour, was not detected.

According to Kim, both growth and survival are developing in line with expectations.

“All batches are progressing as planned, and mortality remains within our targets. Production has so far progressed without major setbacks,” he says.

Monitors around the clock

In parallel with the build-up to the first harvest, work continues to ensure good conditions throughout the entire production cycle. The facility uses a central control system that monitors developments in real time.

To ensure good fish welfare, great emphasis is placed on reducing stress throughout the entire production cycle. The control room continuously monitors oxygen levels, CO₂, pH, temperature and water velocity, among other things.

“We focus particularly on optimal densities and 24/7 environmental control. In addition, we use feeding systems that reduce competition for feed between the fish,” says Kim.

Certified feed developed specifically for RAS production is also used.

Wants to reduce costs

At the same time, Eco Aquafarm is working to improve operational efficiency as the plant approaches commercial production.

Although the biological development is going according to plan, Kim points to operating costs as the biggest challenge in the scale-up phase.

“We are continuously working to improve processes and optimise resource use. The goal is to reduce energy consumption and increase production efficiency,” he says.