Most fish farmed on land

How close is land-based fish farming to supplying a large share of seafood?

Farms that raise fish in closed, land-based tanks (recirculating aquaculture systems, or RAS) now produce thousands of tonnes a year at their largest site. Atlantic Sapphire's Florida farm harvested 5,096 tonnes of salmon in 2025. Farmed aquatic animals as a whole totalled about 103 million tonnes in 2024, so land-based output is still a very small share of seafood. Several land-based salmon projects and suppliers have failed or been dropped, and Atlantic Sapphire reported a 2025 net loss of $191.3 million.

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Commercial volumes have been harvested from one large land-based salmon facility, Atlantic Sapphire's Homestead site in Florida, which harvested 5,096 tonnes HOG in 2025. The same company reported a 2025 net loss of $191.3 million, year-end cash of $3.2 million, and a 2026 restructuring. Several other projects and suppliers have failed or been dropped. Some farms now run at commercial volume, but no sources reviewed show repeatable, profitable supply at scale, so the stage is pilot.

The tech tree

Everything recorded on Vrulum that this future needs, oldest foundations at the top and the goal at the bottom. Lines show what each step requires.

What it takes: Most fish farmed on land Unlocked Being researched Locked
  1. 2016Recirculating aquaculture systemsCommercial Unlocked.
  1. 2016Modelled costs at 3,300-tonne scaleIn progress Being researched.
  2. 2024Land-based output at a large share of national or global seafood supplyNot started Locked.
  3. 2025Commercial-scale land-based salmon harvestDone Unlocked.
  4. 2026Single land-based projects of 27,000 tonnes or more reaching constructionNot started Locked.
  5. 2026Land-based farms operating for years without repeated lossesNot started Locked.
  6. 2026Phase 2 expansion of the Florida facility to 25,000 tonnesIn progress Being researched.
  1. GoalMost fish farmed on landGoalRequires: Recirculating aquaculture systems, Commercial-scale land-based salmon harvest, Modelled costs at 3,300-tonne scale, Phase 2 expansion of the Florida facility to 25,000 tonnes, Single land-based projects of 27,000 tonnes or more reaching construction, Land-based farms operating for years without repeated losses, Land-based output at a large share of national or global seafood supply. Locked.

The road so far

1 of 6 steps done, 2 in progress.

  1. Done · 2025Commercial-scale land-based salmon harvest

    Atlantic Sapphire harvested 5,096 tonnes HOG (head-on gutted) of salmon in 2025 at its recirculating facility in Homestead, Florida, up from 4,365 tonnes in 2024. The company's stated Phase 1 capacity is about 7,500 to 8,500 tonnes HOG a year. Its guidance for 2026 is about 7,000 tonnes HOG. [2][3]

  2. In progress · 2016Modelled costs at 3,300-tonne scale

    A peer-reviewed comparison by Liu and colleagues modelled a 3,300-tonne HOG land-based RAS in the United States against Norwegian open net pens. The modelled production cost was 5.60 US$/kg for the RAS against 5.08 US$/kg for net pens, about 10% higher. The modelled capital cost was about $54 million for the RAS and about $30 million for net pens. This is a model with stated assumptions, not an operating record. [11]

  3. In progress · Aug 2026Phase 2 expansion of the Florida facility to 25,000 tonnes

    Atlantic Sapphire says it is developing a Phase 2 expansion that would bring total annual capacity to 25,000 tonnes. In May 2026, Undercurrent News reported that the company said Phase 2 would not likely happen in 2026. The August 2026 interim report describes the expansion as in development. The company's position on timing is therefore unsettled. [6][5]

  4. Not started · Feb 2026Single land-based projects of 27,000 tonnes or more reaching construction

    Nordic Aquafarms planned a $650 million land-based fish farm on the Samoa Peninsula in Humboldt Bay, California, for 27,000 metric tonnes a year of yellowtail kingfish. Local reporting in February 2026 said the company abandoned the project with no formal announcement and no stated reason. [10]

  5. Not started · May 2026Land-based farms operating for years without repeated losses

    Atlantic Sapphire's 2025 net loss was $191.3 million. A 2026 restructuring agreement and a planned delisting followed. Coral Holding plans an offer of NOK 0.80 per share for all shares. AquaBounty said in December 2024 that it did not have sufficient liquidity to keep operating, and that its Ohio project was incomplete. Billund Aquaculture, a Danish maker of RAS equipment, filed for bankruptcy in July 2024. [4][7][8][9]

  6. Not started · 2024Land-based output at a large share of national or global seafood supply

    FAO reports about 103 million tonnes of farmed aquatic animals in 2024, in total and across all systems. The sources reviewed do not give a separate figure for land-based output at global scale. The largest single land-based operator reviewed produced 5,096 tonnes HOG in 2025, which is a very small share of that total. Reaching a large share would need many facilities at this scale, and units differ between sources (HOG, live weight and whole fish), so comparisons are indicative only. [1][2]

Why it matters

Farmed fish now provide more than half of global aquatic animal production, according to FAO. Land-based farms can be built close to buyers and keep fish in closed tanks, away from open water. Whether they can supply a large share of seafood depends on capital cost, energy use and reliability. Those are the points where the record so far is weakest.

What stands in the way

  • Capital cost is high. The 2016 model put the capital cost of a 3,300-tonne RAS at about $54 million, against about $30 million for net pens of the same output, so a project needs large up-front funding.
  • Finance is fragile. Atlantic Sapphire's 2025 net loss was $191.3 million, year-end cash fell to $3.2 million, and the company agreed a restructuring with a planned delisting in 2026.
  • Production-stage carbon footprint is higher than net pens in the same study. The modelled RAS footprint was 7.01 kg CO2eq per kg live weight against 3.39 for net pens, and operating cost was the same at 4.37 US$/kg.
  • Projects and suppliers keep failing or being dropped. AquaBounty wound down its fish farming operations in December 2024 for lack of liquidity, Billund Aquaculture filed for bankruptcy in July 2024, and Nordic Aquafarms abandoned its 27,000-tonne California project in February 2026.
  • Scale is far off. The largest operator reviewed harvested 5,096 tonnes HOG in 2025, and a large share of seafood would need many facilities of that size, and each would need its own working costs and biology under control.

Published forecasts

What others have predicted. These are their estimates, not ours.

WhoForecastTimeframeMade
Atlantic Sapphire (company plans, as listed by SalmonBusiness)A 2019 SalmonBusiness list of planned land-based farms gave Atlantic Sapphire's Miami project a target of 220,000 tonnes to be harvested by 2031. This target was far above the 2025 harvest and has not been repeated in the 2026 sources reviewed. [12]20319 May 2019
Atlantic Sapphire (company statement, August 2026 interim report)The company gives a long-term targeted harvest volume of more than 100,000 tons for its Florida operation. No year is given. [6]Not given31 Aug 2026

Signals to watch

  • Atlantic Sapphire harvest against its 2026 guidance of about 7,000 tonnes HOG.
  • A decision and funding for the Phase 2 expansion to 25,000 tonnes.
  • Completion or failure of the planned delisting and Coral Holding offer for Atlantic Sapphire shares.
  • Published capital and operating costs per kilogram from an operating RAS salmon farm over at least two full years.
  • Statistics that report land-based or recirculating output as its own category, so its share can be measured.
  • A new land-based project of 10,000 tonnes or more that secures finance and starts construction.

Sources

  1. government report
    SOFIA 2026: Global fisheries and aquaculture production reaches new highs
    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 16 Jun 2026.
  2. news
    Atlantic Sapphire harvested 5,096 tonnes HOG of salmon in 2025
    Landbased AQ, 15 Jan 2026.
  3. news
    Atlantic Sapphire: operational progress continues, liquidity pressure remains
    SalmonBusiness, 4 May 2026.
  4. news
    Atlantic Sapphire posts $191.3m net loss for 2025 as it moves from 'turnaround' period
    Undercurrent News, 30 Apr 2026.
  5. news
    Atlantic Sapphire says phase 2 expansion won't likely happen in 2026
    Undercurrent News, 4 May 2026.
  6. company announcement
    Atlantic Sapphire ASA First Half 2026 Results: Steady improvements in parallel with financial restructuring of the company
    Atlantic Sapphire ASA (release hosted by Inderes), 31 Aug 2026.
  7. news
    Atlantic Sapphire plans to delist as part of refinancing strategy
    Landbased AQ, 25 May 2026.
  8. news
    Land-based GMO salmon producer terminates operations as cash runs dry
    SalmonBusiness, 11 Dec 2024.
  9. news
    Danish RAS manufacturer Billund files for bankruptcy
    Undercurrent News, 26 Jul 2024.
  10. news
    It's Official: Nordic Aquafarms Has Cut Bait On Its Proposed $650M Fish Factory Project on Humboldt Bay
    Lost Coast Outpost, 17 Feb 2026.
  11. peer reviewed paper
    Comparative economic performance and carbon footprint of two farming models for producing Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar): Land-based closed containment system in freshwater and open net pen in seawater
    Yajie Liu, Trond W. Rosten, Kristian Henriksen et al.. Elsevier (Aquacultural Engineering, vol. 71), 2016.
  12. news
    These are the leading land-based salmon farms in the world right now
    SalmonBusiness, 9 May 2019.

Last reviewed 22 Oct 2026.