170,000 fish dead after drop in oxygen levels
Human error and breach of procedures caused the incident, Proximar states in a stock exchange announcement.
Published
The Norwegian land-based fish farming company Proximar Seafood, which operates near the foot of Mount Fuji in Japan, experienced a serious incident during the night leading into Thursday that resulted in mass fish mortality. Around 170,000 fish died after circulation pumps stopped working at the facility.
Dropped below critical level
According to the company, the incident occurred during preparations for an upcoming fish transfer. An empty tank was being filled overnight, and due to a malfunction with the automatic valves, the process had to be controlled manually.
However, due to human error and breaches of procedures, the water level in the tank being drained fell below the minimum set point, causing the circulation pumps to shut down. This led to oxygen depletion in two fish tanks, resulting in extensive mortality.
"The emergency oxygen system was activated as intended, but failed to deliver sufficient levels. The cause of this is currently under investigation," the company stated in a stock exchange announcement.
The lost fish had been scheduled for harvest in the fourth quarter of this year. The financial impact of the mortality is estimated at around NOK 12 million, with a production loss of approximately 550 tonnes.
Average weight expected to increase
Nevertheless, Proximar points out that the incident also frees up tank capacity, which can be used to optimize production. The bottleneck in production, when it comes to harvest weight, has been the lack of available tank capacity. The company therefore expects to be able to increase the average weight of the fish at harvest, as well as achieve better pricing.
The production team estimates that the optimization could have a positive impact equivalent to around 200 tonnes, reducing the net effect of the incident to around 350 tonnes. Proximar now estimates a total harvest volume of approximately 3,000 tonnes in 2025.
The company reached a milestone in September last year when it harvested its first fish and harvested a total of 322 tonnes HOG during the first quarter of this year, with 99.5 percent classified as superior quality.
