Overview
In FY2022, Nissui had 9515 employees and a total net asset of 220.6 billion Yen. As of 10 February 2023, its market capitalisation is 283 billion Yen. Nissui's CEO is Shogo Hamada, who has a degree of fisheries science from the University of Tokyo[12] and has been working for the company since 1983.[13]
After exclusive economic zones (EEZ) were introduced by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Nissui's traditional business model of pelagic fisheries collapsed, as most of continental shelves, where Nissui's ships used to fish, was now to be controlled by other countries. No longer running a profitable business, Nissui found itself unable to allocate any of its profit to dividends for the first time in its history as a publicly traded company in 1991. [14][15]
This business downturn became an impetus for the company to change its business model, and during the 1990s it invested heavily in aquaculture of salmon by its Chilean subsidiary Emdepes, extraction of Eicosapentaenoic acid from fish for pharmaceutical use, and production of frozen food. It also started to diversify the sources of fish supply by establishing and acquiring subsidiaries around the world.[15]
These efforts gradually proved successful, and its main sources of revenue are now its traditional fishery&marine products business, and the fine chemical and processed food divisions. Today, its subsidiaries across the world not only contribute to the stabilisation of Nissui's supply chain as originally intended but also sell products that cater to the needs of each country. Its US subsidiary Gorton's of Gloucester is the top supplier of frozen marine products, and supplies hamburgers to McDonald's. Its New Zealand subsidiary Sealord is the largest supplier of fried fish and one of the largest food companies in the country. Its French subsidiary Cité Marine holds a similar position in the French frozen food market.[16][17]
Nissui has been working to make land-based aquaculture commercially viable. Nissui's current aquaculture business, mainly salmon and Japanese amberjack, is mostly conducted in the traditional way of ocean-based aquaculture, meaning they keep fish in segregated areas of harbours or in tanks that are connected to ocean. However, keeping fish in ocean water means they are prone to get diseases or affected by natural conditions, which sometimes result in worst scenarios such as annihilation. This method also has a large impact on the ecosystem that share the water. Thus, from both the perspectives of business stability and environmental friendliness, land-based aquaculture is more desirable. In April 2023, as Nissui's first land-based commercial aquaculture project, a whiteleg shrimp farm started operations in Ei, Kagoshima. A mackerel farm is also planned to start commercial operations in 2026. [18][19][20][21]
