Kingfish Maine harvests small batch of RAS Dutch yellowtail
Land-based farmer with upcoming Maine facility celebrates limited release
Kingfish Maine has harvested and released a limited amount of Dutch yellowtail produced at a land-based facility in Maine, a precursor to its upcoming permanent facility along the state’s coastline.
Currently operating at the Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research (CCAR) in Franklin, Maine, the company is preparing to construct a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility about 40 miles east in Jonesport that it got final approval for in late 2022.
“We have worked three long years to arrive at this point – harvesting our first Dutch yellowtail from Maine and completing all our permits for our land-based Jonesport facility,” said Kingfish Maine Operations Manager Megan Sorby. “This would not be possible without the collaborative work with our team at Kingfish Zeeland and our crew here at CCAR. We are excited to bring the first Dutch yellowtail from Maine to the market.”
Kingfish Zeeland and Kingfish Maine are both part of the Kingfish Company, based in the Netherlands. Kingfish is also known as hiramasa or greater amberjack.
Kingfish Maine’s limited release of fish will be distributed and served at restaurants in Maine, Boston, Washington, D.C., and California over the next two months. Bristol Seafood, which recently announced its B Corp. certification, is processing the limited reserve batch at its Portland, Maine, facility.
The keys to making land-based and offshore aquaculture work? Scale, scale, scale
“As a certified B Corp, Bristol collaborates with other companies which meet our standards of sustainability and environmental impact,” said Bristol Seafood President and CEO Peter Handy. “We are proud that the Kingfish team is entrusting us with processing and packaging its first Maine harvest of sustainably-raised Dutch yellowtail. We look forward to supporting Kingfish Maine as the company fully develops its facility in Jonesport.”
The Kingfish Company currently produces 1,500 metric tons (MT) of yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi) at its Kingfish Zeeland facility in the Netherlands, with plans to expand to 3,500 MT in 2023. The Jonesport facility is projected to produce 8,500 MT annually.
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