In May, CEO Steven Rafferty rebuffed the idea that Cermaq, the world's second largest salmon farmer, had any inclination to farm salmon on land in the short term. But Mitsubishi, Cermaq's owner, had different plans.

On Wednesday the massive Japanese conglomerate announced the launch of a joint venture land-base salmon farming project two hours outside of Tokyo in partnership with Maruha Nichiro.

And this difference in approach has given Cermaq, advisors on the project, a unique opportunity.

"It has given big insight to Cermaq," the company's head of land-based innovation and development Bendik Fyhn Terjesen told IntraFish.