Nordic Aqua Partners has entered a more demanding phase for land-based salmon farming: proving whether scale can translate into operating margin.
The company now says that phases 1 and 2 of its RAS facility in Ningbo, China, are fully operational, bringing annual capacity to 8,000 tonnes of Atlantic salmon.
But the relevant figure is no longer only installed capacity. The first indicators are now available to assess how much it costs to produce salmon on land once the system starts operating at commercial scale.
During the second quarter of 2026, Nordic Aqua produced 2,294 tonnes of biomass and ended the period with 5,644 in stock, equivalent to full utilisation of the capacity of phases 1 and 2.
Commercial harvest reached 1,362 tonnes of HOG, with an average weight of 4.4 kilograms HOG, equivalent to 5.3 kilograms live weight, and 96% of fish classified as Superior.
According to the company, Kontali ranks it as the first land-based produced to harvest more than 1,000 tonnes in a quarter with an average weight above 4 kilograms.
Farming cost is the figure that makes the news particularly relevant for the sector. Nordic Aqua reduced its cost in the quarter to EUR 6.05 per kilogram HOG, down for EUR 7.94 per kilogram a year earlier, supported by higher harvest volumes and more stable production over several months.
The improvement shows that scale is beginning to dilute part of the cost base of the RAS model, although the company remains some way from demonstrating fully consolidated profitability.
Indeed, operating EBIT in the second quarter remained negative, at EUR -0.6 million, although this was an improvement on the EUR -2.6 million reported in the same period of 2025.
The company attributed the result to high global supply of Atlantic salmon and weaker spot prices. Quarterly revenue reached EUR 9.4 million, driven by higher volumes, but part of the harvest was concentrated at the end of the quarter, in a weaker prices environment.
The Chinese market remains the project’s main bet. Nordic Aqua achieved an average price of EUR 6.94 per kilogram and highlighted that Superior fish above 5 kilograms reached EUR 7.85 per kilogram, with a premium over the Sitagri index, a price reference used to track Atlantic salmon in the Europeam market and compare the value of different qualities and fish sizes.
The company also underlined that Chinese imports of fresh Atlantic salmon reached 87,459 tonnes in the first half of 2026, up 39% year-on-year, reinforcing the case for producing close to a growing market with demand for high-value fresh fish.
With this progress, Nordic Aqua is beginning to shift the discussion form technical feasibility to the real economics of each kilogram produced.
The biology appears stable, with good fish health, high survival and no significant maturation, but production adjustments are still needed, including optimising biomass and gradually increasing average harvest weight.
The company has already started engineering work on phase 3, which could lift capacity to 20,000 tonnes HOG if a final investment decision is taken. Before then, however, it will need to show that producing more also means producing with margin.
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