Page 13 - AA 2023 Year Book Website

Editorial

ply juveniles to other projects. Com- companies. As mentioned, currently the
panies currently growing Yellowtail only commercial hatchery is in Chile.
kingfish have their own broodstock or The company sells larvae and juveniles
imported juveniles from Chile (the only around the world with no other com-
commercial hatchery supplying juve- mercial supplier to compete with. Yel-
niles around the year) at great cost. lowtail kingfish juveniles (1 gr) are being
Markets sold for $3.14 per individual (ACUINOR,
Chile, 2018).
Market development Sale of juveniles (reaching 1-5gr in 30-
While Seriola sp. and specifically Yel- 40 days) or even larvae (24 hours after
lowtail kingfish are known locally in the hatching) to established hatcheries and
Gulf and in other major markets (i.e. Eu- grow-out companies represents the fast-
rope, USA), it is not a main seafood spe- est ROI. Cultured Yellowtail Kingfish
cies such as sea bream, sea bass and/or ‘Plate-size’ fish
salmon. In recent years, there has been The Business case for
significant increase in demand while Locally in the Gulf region, the fish can Yellowtail kingfish
supply is still relatively modest. As a be sold as a whole, plate-size fish. In
result, prices for fresh product has in- most of the Mediterranean - Middle East hatchery
creased in the past year. countries, fish such as sea bream and While there are several companies
European sea bass are sold as plate-size,
While some large European compa- hence, the market is familiar and there is producing Yellowtail kingfish in Europe,
nies which possess RAS systems (for sea a preference for this type/size of serv- Australia, Japan and other countries,
bream, sea bass) are showing interest ing. Plate-sized Yellowtail kingfish (400- none will sell larvae and/or juveniles to
in introducing or switching to Yellowtail 500gr) is a visually nice fish with a white other growers. Hence, currently, the only
kingfish, the business justification to im- firm flesh. It is popular in the Gulf region, supply of larvae/juveniles is from South
port juveniles from South America is not as well as north African countries (wild America.
proven. caught Amberjack ‘Shula’). Yellowtail A commercial hatchery that will be
Yellowtail kingfish market can be kingfish will reach plate-size within ~4 able to supply larvae and juveniles year-
divided to 3 main segments: months, hence, the advantage of faster round will reap the benefits of being the
turnover. first and only supplier of Yellowtail king-
1. Larvae & juveniles fish seeds in the northern hemisphere.
Large fish
2. ‘Plate-size’ It is estimated that within 2 years,
3. Large fish Yellowtail kingfish, like all Seriola spe- young fish grown for broodstock will de-
cies, is known for its raw flesh and sashi- velop their gonads and start spawning,
Larvae & juveniles mi quality. The fish can be served raw increasing quantity and quality over the
(i.e. sashimi) or prepared as a cooked
As emphasized earlier, Seriola juve- next couple of years. In this period of
nile’s supply is considered the largest meal. time, the hatchery - nursery facilities can
bottleneck for commercial aquaculture Currently, all cultured Yellowtail king- be built and completed. Furthermore,
development in the region. Therefore, fish sold around the world is grown to small batches of larvae can be imported
hatchery that will be able to produce 2-4 kg. The fish will reach 2-2.5 kg within and grown to juveniles or larger to com-
large quantities of Yellowtail kingfish ju- 12-14 months. While achieving the high- mission the systems, improve protocols
veniles year-round will have the initial est price (relative to plate-size fish), it and initiate sales.
advantage of no competition and de- also takes the longest time. Established Grow-out
mand for juveniles from European and markets for large fish exist in Europe and
Mediterranean countries, as well as, USA. Yellowtail kingfish grows well in sea
Red sea and Indian Ocean (Jordan, Saudi cages. In Japan and Australia, all grow-
Arabia, Oman, UAE, Iran) aquaculture In Europe, the current supply of Yel- out is carried out in sea cages. In Europe
lowtail kingfish is mainly from local sup- grow-out is carried out only in RAS. In the
ply (hundreds of MT), as well as import- USA, a new Yellowtail kingfish RAS proj-
ed from Australia. Prices for whole fish ect is currently under development.
and fillets range between €13 - €26 and
€35 - €50, respectively. These prices are Each method has its advantages and
only an indication and when commer- disadvantages. Both present viable op-
cial production and continuous supply tions in the Gulf region and Red sea.
of fresh fish increases, it is expected that
prices will increase, as demand and con- One of the issues in sea cage culture is
sumer recognition soars. a health problem, flatworm (fluke) para-
sites (Benedenia seriolae and Zeuxapta
seriolae) that inhabit the skin and gills
‘Plate-size’ Yellowtail Kingfish in Yellowtail. These flatworms can cause

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