First black cod fingerlings arrive at Zeeland farm

The juveniles are the first stock for The Black Cod Company, a business venture set up by Ohad Maiman and Thue Holm, two leading pioneers in the recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) farming sector.

Ohad Maiman was the founder of The Kingfish Company, also based in the Netherlands, while Thue Holm is a former founding director of Atlantic Sapphire, which currently operates a RAS salmon farm in Florida.

Black cod (Anoplopoma fimbria) also known as sablefish, is a popular delicacy in Japan and, in Europe, is rated as a premium species with a very limited supply from US and Canadian fisheries.

The Black Cod Company hopes to farm this fish in its Zeeland site and market it to high-end restaurants in Europe.

Ohad Maiman shared on LinkedIn: “Few moments in the development of a new farm top the first fish arrival, and in this case as far as we know- the first ever Black Cod in Europe have just landed!

“Excited to see The Black Cod Company taking shape with one of the highest value import dependent species in the sector.”

Three months ago, the company announced it had been granted funding of €475,000 (£410,000) from the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), for the project.