Dutch land-based yellowtail aquaculture company Kingfish Zeeland settled on Jonesport, Maine, for the location of its new recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) yellowtail farm, after conducting an exhaustive study along the coast of Maine, Machias Valley News Observer reported.

Earlier this year, CEO Ohad Maiman told IntraFish the company was looking for a community that would embrace its relatively new business model, aiming to complete its US expansion plan -- including site licensing, detailed design and construction planning -- before the summer of 2020.

The Maine facility is expected to produce around 6,000 metric tons of fish by 2021, Maiman said.

Kingfish Zeeland representatives have been in Jonesport for several months meeting with town officials and are scheduled to finally reveal the plans for the new facility to the public later this week, reported The Free Press.

Kingfish Zeeland began harvesting yellowtail in November 2017 and is currently producing 600 metric tons annually in the Netherlands.

The company has been honing in on the US market since 2018, when it strategically allocated around 20 percent of its production to the region to test the product's potential.

Kingfish Zeeland announced it would close its pre-initial public offering (IPO) private placement during the IntraFish Seafood Investor Forum in September.

The company is raising funds for its expansion with the help of Pareto Securities. The expansion will allow the company to potentially double its production capacity in its Dutch facilities.

Maiman first announced plans to publicly-list the company in March.

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