Urchinomics: Launches its Second Commercial Scale Site in Nagato in Collaboration with Maruyama Suisan
Nagato, Japan: On November 30, 2022, Urchinomics, the pioneering kelp restoration and sea urchin aquaculture venture and Maruyama Suisan, a renowned seafood processor based in Nagato, Japan, announce the launch of their commercial urchin ranching site. They will be ready to sell in January 2023.
Urchinomics and its local collaborator, Mr. Shinta Yamada (CEO of Maruyama Suisan) the Nagato based seafood processor with a legacy going back to the Meiji era, have announced the completion of a 35-ton commercial urchin ranch. The site includes 200 raceways using a recirculating aquaculture system. System operations are up and running and ranching has started with success. The system tests proved the site is now fully ready for commercial application and ready to sell product in January of 2023.
Urchinomics and Mr. Yamada met for the first time at the Seafood Show in Osaka in 2020. From that initial meeting they entered a collaborative agreement which resulted in Urchinomics and Maruyama completing their initial ranching trials with a flow through system in 2021. Brian Tsuyoshi Takeda, CEO and Founder of Urchinomics, states that, ‘we are incredibly excited by the speed and quality of products soon to be brought to market. This launch further proves the viability of our business model’. Takeda further states that, ’although both Urchinomics and Maruyama Suisan invested in the venture, it was supported by visionary partners including Norinchukin and Hagi Yamaguchi Shinkin Bank who provided bank financing to the Nagato operations’.
The launch ceremony is scheduled for November 30th at the site in Nagato with guests including existing and potential Urchinomics investors, ENEOS Innovation Partners, representatives of the Norwegian embassy, Mayor of Nagato City, National Federation of Fisheries Co-operative Associations, Yamaguchi Fisheries Coops executives as well as selected local fishers, and restaurant owners.
Urchinomics, and its Japanese subsidiary Uninomics K.K, is a pioneering aquaculture venture that aims to turn ecologically destructive sea urchins into high valued seafood products that can be consistently supplied nearly year-round. The Urchinomics Methodology helps restore kelp forests, which in turn supports greater marine biomass, biodiversity, and capacity to sequester atmospheric CO2, all while creating meaningful, full-time employment in rural, coastal communities around the world.