Aqua Culture Value Chain

Feeding of pellets with a pellet gun in Atlantis salmon farm in Chile.
Catching. Tuna is captured in a purse seine net, it is then transferred to towing cages and towed to it's farming location.
A tuna embryo.
Atlantis salmon farm in Chile (sold in 2006).
Preparing the deck for tuna harvesting and primary processing.
Secondary processing flowline.
A Japanese superfreezer vessel prepares to leave for Japan with its freezers loaded with Croatian tuna.
Assorted Sushi ready for consumption

Products from Atlantis Group


Atlantis Group Operations

Aquaculture

Aquaculture is growing more than production of main meat products. Changes in lifestyles, incomes and a growing awareness of health issues related to meat consumption are continuously altering the patterns of demand worldwide in favour of fish and seafood products.

Increasing stability in the farming of seafood species has created more supply to respond to the rising demand in the market.

Constant improvements, increased knowledge, and new technology in farming make aquaculture more profitable and more receptive to economies of scale in ways that do not damage the environment.

Atlantis Groups’ integration and strong strategic position across the value chains has resulted in high quality products and services, and very satisfied customers.

The aquaculture value chain is different depending on species.  As per the description below Tuna has the differentiation that it has not yet been commercially bred in captivity. 

  Feed: The aquaculture feed industry is a very important aspect, but often goes well below the radar when discussing Aquaculture. Feed ranges from pellets to whole anchovies and sardines. Feed is both a major cost and quality factor in Aquaculture.     Catching: Catching still has its place in aquaculture where on-growing or often called ranching takes place. Common examples of this is with tuna, where the fish is caught and then towed in special towing cages to the farming location.

  Hatchery: Fish hatcheries are used to cultivate and breed a large number of fish in an enclosed environment. Once the fish has reached the required size its moved into it's cage for further on-growing.     Feed: The aquaculture feed industry is a very important aspect, but often goes well below the radar when discussing Aquaculture. Feed ranges from pellets to whole anchovies and sardines. Feed is both a major cost and quality factor in Aquaculture.

On-growing:  This is the time between hatching or catching and the harvest.  During this time the fish and it's environment is monitored carefully for diseases, feed uptake, oxygen levels of water and other factors.  Some species are transferred during the on-growing period to waters with different environmental conditions, or transferred between cages to categorize similar sized fish together.  The growing period can last from a few months to 2-3 or longer, depending on species.

Primary processing: Processing is done at time of harvest.  Most often this involves gilling and gutting the fish.  There are examples of fish farms that do not carry this step out immediately at harvesting but this usually results in lower quality products and defects to the fish.

Secondary processing: Usually done closer to the market for the fish.  A fish processor receives gilled and gutted or headed and gutted fish and processes it into various products for either foodservice or retail.

Wholesale: This stage can actually take place after primary processing and before secondary processing, or after the product is in its final form.  Wholesalers often have large supply contracts with customers and also act in such ways as a sourcing or procuring agent for their customers.

Retail sales / Food-service:  The majority of products go to retail or food-service.  At this point shelf-life becomes particularly important because with seafood the percentage of products that are sold at reduced prices due to shelf-life limitations is quite high.