Japan’s Shikoku on track for fish farm project

A Japanese national rail operator is planning to expand into the salmon farming business.

The Shikoku Railway Company (trading as JR Shikoku) is to begin launching a trial land-based salmon project in the Kumamoto Prefecture later this month, suggesting it has been privately working on the project for some time.

Although Japan’s main railway system, including its famed bullet trains, operates under a single branding and appears as one provider, it is made up of a number of different companies, who work mainly on a regional basis.

JR Shikoku is one of Japan’s smaller rail operators, with an inter-city and regional routing of 855 kilometres (534 miles).

The company also has other non-rail businesses such as hotels and property and says that salmon farming is now an activity which shows considerable promise. It is also reported to be looking at shrimp farming.

The plan was unveiled at a press conference by company president Kazuyuki Shinomura who said it was his ambition to nurture this new growth opportunity.

JR Shikoku says it is installing a number of tanks on its premises to cultivate king salmon juveniles starting in the next few weeks.

It will eventually select a permanent location, and plans to set up three main commercial operational sites where there are abundant water supplies. It is also looking at recruiting people with aquaculture and commercial seafood expertise.

Annual sales will initially be modest totalling around 100 million yen a year (around £540,000) with an option for further growth.