According to Fish Farming Expert, the company estimates that it will reach a total 400,000 harvest size fish by the end of the year, and plans to reach an annual harvest of 4,000,000 fish in the upcoming years.
According to the company’s general manager Daniel Elton, Acuinor is the second aquaculture company in the world to reproduce yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi) in captivity, with Australian company Clean Seas as the first. Elton explains in a report provided for Aqua.cl, that the growth period for this species is aproximately 16 months in sea cages and 10 months in land based recirculation systems. Its average harvest weight is 3.5 kilos and the current commercial value for each yellowtail fillet borders around US$ 10. It is an oily whitefish with firm flesh consumed principally as sashimi.
Acuinor’s aquaculture venture started four years ago in Chile’s Atacama Desert Region, 18 Km north of Caldera, with the help of governmental support for aquaculture innovation projects, and a total investment capital of US$ 5.3 million. The company’s production facilities include a recirculation hatchery designed and built by the Danish company Uni-Aqua. If all goes well with the survival and growth of Acuinor’s first batch of 400.000 juveniles, the company expects to reach an annual production capacity of 4,000,000 fish with the recirculation hatchery in the upcoming years.
