As China continues to advance its “blue granary” strategy, offshore aquaculture, and diversification of aquafeed ingredients, the country’s aquaculture sector has delivered remarkable results to the world: in 2025, China’s aquaculture output exceeded 63 million metric tons, accounting for around 56% of the global total, while the total output value of its fishery economy reached RMB 3.4 trillion and supported tens of millions of jobs. These figures all underscore China’s vital contribution to global aquaculture development.
As a global leader in Antarctic krill harvesting with a fully integrated value chain, Aker QRILL Company recognized early on that China’s aquaculture sector and its rising demand for high-quality feed ingredients would create broad opportunities for key marine ingredients like Antarctic krill. Recently, Daguo fisheries conducted an exclusive interview with Kenneth Fredriksen, Chief Commercial Officer of Aker QRILL Company. Notably, Kenneth has nearly 20 years of experience working with technology companies in China. His deep understanding of the Chinese market has enabled him to quickly adapt to the aquaculture ingredients sector and accurately capture the momentum behind China’s transformation in the sector.
During the interview, Kenneth shared his perspectives on China’s market trends, the value of marine ingredients, supply chain stability, Antarctic ecosystem sustainability, and the future outlook for the industry, offering a detailed view of how Aker QRILL Company is aligning with China’s aquaculture growth opportunities.
What are the core advantages of China’s aquaculture market that attract global marine ingredient companies, and what is the underlying logic behind Aker QRILL Company’s continued investment in China?
I often describe the Chinese market as the “fitness gym” for any company. Only by gaining a firm foothold in China can a company build the confidence to compete globally. China is the world’s largest aquaculture market by scale, but more importantly, the industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation. That is the key reason behind our continued investment.
In the past, domestic aquaculture in China focused on scale and cost. Today, consumer demand is driving an industry-wide upgrade. Farmers and feed companies are changing the way they evaluate ingredients: instead of focusing only on unit price, they increasingly value product quality, full traceability, and green sustainability. Aker QRILL Company’s Antarctic krill ingredients are naturally aligned with all three priorities.
Krill is not simply a protein ingredient; it is a multifunctional marine ingredient. Supported by the strict management of the CCAMLR and a fully traceable sustainable harvesting system, it is a stable, low-carbon, and traceable marine resource. As China promotes a broader food-resource strategy, diversifies feed ingredients, and reduces reliance on traditional fishmeal, our products naturally fit the policy direction of China’s fishery sector. By deeply cultivating the Chinese market and developing tailored solutions here, we can also strengthen our competitiveness globally. This is the fundamental reason we remain strongly committed to China over the long term.
Against the backdrop of sharp fluctuations in traditional fishmeal production and prices, what are the core differentiators of Antarctic krill meal compared with conventional marine protein ingredients?
Compared with traditional fishmeal, Antarctic krill meal offers a high-value, comprehensive, and irreplaceable aquaculture solution.
First, its nutritional profile is unique. Krill is rich in phospholipid-bound Omega-3, natural astaxanthin, choline, and other functional nutrients. It has strong palatability benefits that can significantly increase feed intake in fish and shrimp. It also supports hepatopancreas function, improves stress resistance, and helps reduce disease incidence. Krill meal has shown clear benefits in addressing industry challenges such as EHP in shrimp, fillet quality improvement in salmon, and transport stress. Numerous trials have also confirmed that adding krill meal can substantially improve feed conversion ratio, reducing total feed consumption for the same level of output.
Second, resource supply stability is far stronger than that of traditional fisheries. CCAMLR strictly limits the krill catch in Area 48 of the Antarctic to no more than 1% of the total biomass, preventing overfishing and reducing supply shocks caused by sharp seasonal declines or climate disruptions. Aker QRILL Company also has full control over the entire value chain, from Antarctic harvesting and onboard processing to our global logistics hub in Uruguay and delivery to customers worldwide. This enables us to provide long-term and stable supply commitments to global customers.
Third, krill offers a strong low-carbon and sustainability advantage. Our harvesting and processing system continues to reduce carbon emissions, with the carbon footprint per unit of krill meal declining significantly. This aligns with China’s dual-carbon goals for the fishery sector and the green trade requirements of export markets. MSC certification enables full-batch traceability and meets the green standards expected by consumers and export markets.
What we want to tell farmers is that they should take a longer-term view and recognize the multiple benefits krill can bring, including improved survival rate, faster growth, and optimized formulation costs.
With CCAMLR’s quota system and your global value-chain layout, what specific measures does Aker QRILL Company take to ensure the supply of krill ingredients to the Chinese market?
There is no doubt that the supply-demand gap in aquaculture continues to widen, and a stable, controllable raw-material supply chain has become a core competitive advantage. We safeguard supply to the Chinese market through three dimensions: top-level resource management, our own integrated value chain, and global allocation capabilities.
First, Antarctic krill harvesting is governed by CCAMLR’s globally unified and binding quota system. This management framework is far stricter than that of most coastal and distant-water fisheries worldwide. The resource base is abundant and the harvesting pace is controllable, unlike traditional fisheries that can face sudden supply drops due to El Niño, marine-area restrictions, or seasonal fishing moratoriums.
Second, we operate one of the world’s largest specialized krill harvesting and processing fleets. All harvesting vessels are equipped with onboard laboratories, giving us full control over harvesting capacity and annual shipment volume. Our large supply vessel, Antarctic Enabler, serves as a floating storage and logistics platform in Antarctic waters. Together with advanced technologies such as unmanned underwater vehicles, this enables long-term offshore operations without being constrained by short-term transport capacity.
Third, we can secure volumes in advance based on annual demand from the Chinese market, flexibly allocate capacity, and build long-term strategic collaboration with leading domestic feed and farming groups. By anticipating China’s aquaculture expansion cycle in advance, we can reserve corresponding krill meal supply volumes and help customers avoid raw-material shortages during peak seasons.
Many small and mid-sized farmers perceive krill meal as a premium ingredient that may increase feed costs. Based on farming data, can you provide an overall assessment of the profitability gains brought by using krill?
I fully understand why traditional farmers pay close attention to feed costs. In conventional shrimp feed, the inclusion rate of krill meal is only 3% to 5%, which translates into an additional cost of just RMB 200 to 400 per metric ton of feed. With mainstream fishmeal prices currently reaching around RMB 23,000 per metric ton, the marginal cost increase brought by krill is actually quite low.
However, the difference in overall farming returns can be significant. With krill meal added, shrimp feed intake improves, growth accelerates, and feed conversion ratio is clearly optimized. At the same time, hepatopancreas health improves, the probability of diseases such as EHP decreases, and survival rates rise substantially. Finished shrimp also show better quality and more uniform body shape, which can lead to higher market purchase prices.
Put simply, adding krill is not merely an increase in formulation cost. It raises overall farm profitability through multiple dimensions, including higher survival rate, reduced disease-related losses, feed savings, and higher selling prices for aquaculture products. Instead of looking only at the cost of a single ingredient, mature farmers should evaluate the full-cycle economics of farming.
The public and the industry are highly concerned about protecting the Antarctic ecosystem. What specific measures does your company take to systematically safeguard the Antarctic marine ecosystem while ensuring krill supply?
Sustainability is the foundation of our operations in Antarctica. Without a healthy Antarctic ecosystem, there can be no long-term krill industry. Environmental protection is not an add-on measure; it is a mandatory prerequisite for everything we do.
First, we use our patented Eco-Harvesting® technology. Instead of traditional trawling, this method continuously pumps live krill onboard through a flexible hose while operating underwater, significantly reducing bycatch. Combined with unmanned underwater vehicles and AI-powered data platforms, it allows us to locate krill swarms in advance, reduce unnecessary vessel movement, and lower fuel consumption and carbon emissions. We also continue to upgrade our AI equipment Drone to further minimize our operational carbon footprint.
Second, we voluntarily go beyond regulatory requirements in ecological protection. We suspend harvesting during the penguin breeding season, avoid key penguin foraging areas, and equip harvesting vessels with whale-avoidance devices. We also work with relevant krill industry associations on polar ecosystem monitoring and protection, and regularly share harvesting and marine-life observation data with CCAMLR.
Third, the entire process is governed by authoritative certification systems. We were the world’s first Antarctic krill company to receive MSC certification and have received an “A” rating from the SFP for 11 consecutive years. All operations are supervised by independent observers, and the full chain from harvesting and processing to finished products is traceable. Environmental and harvesting records are publicly available, ensuring that every batch of product meets polar ecosystem management standards.
Finally, I want to emphasize again that we are highly optimistic about the long-term growth potential of China’s aquaculture sector. Looking ahead, Aker QRILL Company will continue to increase its investment in R&D, warehousing, and technical services in China. As offshore and facility-based aquaculture continue to expand, we look forward to working with aquaculture professionals across the country to seize new opportunities in industry upgrading.