Seafood processing plants — turnkey EPC for whitefish, salmon, shrimp, pelagic & tuna

Indicative CAPEX (2025 benchmarks, greenfield turnkey — building + line + refrigeration + IQF + on-site cold storage + wastewater): US$ 3,500–6,000 / m² for whitefish and salmon plants (10–100 t/day), US$ 4,000–7,500 / m² for shrimp peel/devein IQF plants (5–50 t/day), US$ 5,000–9,000 / m² for tuna loining plants. A 50 t/day fresh salmon plant lands US$ 25–45 M; a 30 t/day IQF shrimp plant US$ 18–35 M; a 200 t/day pelagic plant with IQF and cold storage US$ 60–120 M.

Fresh (portioned, whole, smoked): lower refrigeration load (mostly chill room and ice generation), critical hygiene and cold-chain-to-truck. Frozen IQF: 3–5× the refrigeration capacity, plate freezers or tunnel IQF, plus large on-site cold storage — refrigeration and utilities dominate CAPEX. Most competitive plants build a hybrid line that can flex between fresh, frozen and value-added.

Baseline: EU Regulation 853/2004 (animal-origin food hygiene), US FDA HACCP for seafood (21 CFR Part 123), country fisheries authority approval. Market access: MSC or ASC chain-of-custody (wild vs farmed), BAP, GLOBALG.A.P. Aquaculture. Retail supply: BRCGS Food, IFS Food, SQF, FSSC 22000. Halal (JAKIM, ESMA), kosher, organic and Friends of the Sea where required.

World-class IQF energy: 90–140 kWh / tonne of frozen product for shrimp and whitefish fillets, 120–180 kWh/t for whole small pelagic, 60–100 kWh/t for large plate-frozen fish. Achieved through NH3 or NH3/CO2 cascade plants with floating condensing, VSD compressors, defrost-on-demand, and evaporator control. Older HFC-based plants run 40–70% higher.

Freshwater: 5–15 m³/t product (whitefish highest, shrimp lower). Seawater or RSW: 20–60 m³/t for chilling and washing. Wastewater: 4–13 m³/t, with 800–5,000 mg/L BOD, 100–800 mg/L TSS, 20–150 mg/L TN, 10–50 mg/L TP. Design requires primary DAF, biological treatment (SBR or MBR), and often nitrogen removal for coastal discharge permits. Water reuse (CIP, chilling) commonly reaches 40–60%.

OEM-agnostic. Reference names: Marel, Baader, Skaginn 3X, Optimar, Cabinplant, Cretel, Uni-Food Technic, Rotex, Kroma, Nikko, Toyo Suisan machinery for tuna, plus IQF specialists — GEA, JBT-Frigoscandia, Advanced Equipment. Refrigeration and IQF systems from Mayekawa, GEA, Johnson Controls / York, Star Refrigeration. Shortlist depends on species, throughput, country and reference plants.

One common brief: species, product mix (fresh / IQF / value-added), throughput, yield targets, hygiene standard, refrigerant, wastewater discharge limits, redundancy and export market. 3–5 EPC design-builders + 3–5 seafood-line OEMs bid on the same spec. Comparable proposals on CAPEX, schedule, kWh/t, yield %, water m³/t, warranty and 20-year TCO — plus lender-ready E&S and MSC/ASC-aligned documentation.