On July 4th, Qingdao Qicai Seed Industry Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Qicai Seed Industry) and Qingdao Meichu Food Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Meichu Food) successfully held the signing ceremony of "Leaping Forward with Fish, Freshening the Future – Salmon Fresh Leadership Plan". Representatives from both parties attended the ceremony and signed the framework agreement on salmon sales cooperation.

This strategic cooperation marks the in-depth integration of both parties in the high-end salmon industrial chain. It aims to leverage the combined strengths of the land-based recirculating water salmon aquaculture industry and branded marketing capabilities, jointly propelling China's domestic salmon industry to new heights.

Powerful Alliance: Building a Comprehensive Domestic Salmon Industrial Chain

Relying on the research team of Ocean University of China, Qicai Seed Industry has long been deeply engaged in technologies related to land-based industrial recirculating water. It holds a leading position in China in fields such as high-end fish seed breeding and recirculating water aquaculture technology, and is currently committed to building a complete industrial chain for salmon seed industry and aquaculture. As a leading domestic enterprise engaged in seafood import and export, processing, wholesale, and retail, Meichu Food has long been dedicated to the R&D and sales of high-end aquatic ingredients, boasting a mature national sales network. Through this cooperation, Meichu Food will leverage Qicai Seed Industry's high-quality salmon resources, give full play to their respective advantages, create a full-chain quality assurance system from "source to table", and jointly build a complete industrial chain model of "seedlings+aquaculture+processing+sales", supporting the independent controllability of China's domestic salmon industry.

Tech-Driven: Sustainable Growth of Land-Based Recirculating Water Seed Industry

Currently, farmed salmon in marine aquaculture mainly relies on imports, and the salmon seed industry is almost entirely monopolized by Western countries. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop key technologies for domestic salmon breeding and cultivation, and expand the scale of domestic salmon aquaculture production.

Qicai Seed Industry's existing and planned parks include freshwater and marine water parks, with a planned aquaculture capacity of approximately 20,000 tons. Among them, the "Land-Based Recirculating Water Salmon Seed Industry and Aquaculture Base" is jointly planned and constructed with Qingdao West Coast New Area. This project serves as a base for large-sized salmon seedling cultivation, as well as a salmon smoltification and aquaculture base. It supplies large-sized seedlings for offshore salmon aquaculture while conducting commercial salmon farming through land-based recirculating water systems. The base will establish a "dual-track" development model featuring salmon relay aquaculture (from land to sea) and land-based recirculating water salmon aquaculture.

The land-based recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) is adopted, where parameters such as water quality, temperature, and dissolved oxygen are highly controllable. This system reduces earthy odors and pollutant accumulation, enhancing the purity and tenderness of salmon meat. Furthermore, through further research and optimization of feed formulas tailored to different growth stages of salmon, the fish meat achieves a more delicate, soft, glutinous, fresh, and fragrant taste.

In the future, Qicai Seed Industry will provide Meichu Food with stable and high-quality salmon resources, ensuring high survival rates during the aquaculture phase and food safety. It will also significantly shorten the time from salmon harvesting to transportation, delivering fresher salmon products to consumers at large.

Strategic Outlook: Co-Boosting Domestic Salmon's Value Leap

With the continuous rise in domestic salmon consumption, the domestic consumption volume is expected to reach approximately 300,000 tons by 2030, and the entire salmon industrial chain will form a 100-billion-yuan-level market scale. This cooperation will not only enhance the supply stability of salmon raw materials for Meichu Food, but also promote the development of China's domestic salmon industry and reduce import dependence.

The achievement of this strategic cooperation is not only a win-win for both enterprises, but also a crucial step in accelerating the localization process of salmon in China. In the future, the two parties will also explore more cooperation in areas such as offshore aquaculture and intensive processing, further promoting industrial upgrading and enabling China's aquatic products to gain international recognition with their freshness.