While the global economy has been battered by COVID-19, the seafood sector has continued its strength, with M&As, joint ventures, partnerships and IPOs, showing that the future for aquaculture, fisheries and seafood remains bright.

Our15th IntraFish Seafood Investor Forum, sponsored by Antarctica Advisors, brought 20 industry-leading experts together across two days to talk investment, innovation and growth.

WATCH THE FULL PANELS HERE:

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 17.00 GMT

It takes all sorts

While there is definitely a lot of opportunities in the aquaculture space, it takes a mix of investors with different mindsets, according to Nutreco Director of Venturing, Joost Matthijssen.

“The biggest single question mark is whether there is room for investors requiring heavy assets that maybe do not have a very high margin to begin with thinking about things on the nutritional side where it’s pretty hard to scale up.”

-- John Evans

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 16.52 GMT

Stop talking data

It is still early days in the agriculture sector when it comes to innovative technologies, but at least it is five to 10 years ahead of aquaculture, said Nolan Paul, Partner, Global Food & AgTech Lead at Yamaha Motor Ventures.

For more adoption, and investment, from businesses there will need to be more consolidation of technologies and broader platforms created, he said.

And people need to stop just talking about data.

“Data in and of itself doesn’t mean anything, it’s what it represents – solving a specific problem.”

That will demonstrate the value proposition better, he said.

-- Dominic Welling

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 16.50 GMT

The right thing to do

Krill processing firm Aker Biomarine has undergone an expensive journey to provide a new resource to the seafood industry, according to Johansen. But it’s the right thing to do in order to move to a more sustainable business model, he said.

It’s more expensive than the already-scaled-up ways of doing things, he explained.

“We had to lose money for many years."

-- Rachel Sapin

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 16.48 GMT

Get clear on your return on investment

New tech requires a lot of investment and subsidies to get there on scale, but to attract this new players need to get clear on their returns on investment (ROI), said Nolan Paul, Partner, Global Food & AgTech Lead at Yamaha Motor Ventures.

"With a lot of agriculture projects, whether in crops, livestock and even seafood there are certainly innovative stakeholders," he said.

But the problem is there tends to be a poor, or not well-defined, ROI on certain technologies.

"Where the ROI is clear, you will see more adoption," said Paul. "You need to qualify what it’s worth."

Companies should also present a clear risk adapted ROI, and show ability to de-risk at scale, he said.

Additionally, the type of investor is important. "It is difficult for traditional VC investors to grasp these new techs," said Paul.

-- Dominic Welling

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 16.35 GMT

What’s holding aquaculture back?

Maren Hjorth Bauer, founder of Fynd Ocean Ventures, said fisheries industries as well as aquaculture businesses are in the middle of shifting to precision farming. But that shift can be challenging for smaller operations, which still account for a large number of aquaculture producers.

"You have big players, but a lot are small," she said.

-- Rachel Sapin

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 16.31 GMT

Creativity is a balancing act

The industry needs more creative ideas amid some conservatism, Nutreco Director of Venturing Joost Matthijssen.

But he said there is a balancing act between crazy ideas and integrating them into the corporate space.

"Fish and shrimp health are two areas that need more work to be done presenting wider business opportunities," Matthijssen added.

-- John Evans

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 16.25 GMT

Aquaculture is conservative

Aker Biomarine CEO Matts Johansen said innovation is driven by two things: passion and risk appetite.

“You need an organization that wants something, to change something or improve something,” he said.

Then it comes down to the leadership’s willingness to take risks.

“It’s human nature not to take risks,” he said.

But he said leaders need to carry the risks and push organizations to explore new opportunities, even if that sometimes means it won’t work out. "Aquaculture can be conservative," he said.

“We have big companies here that have so much capital,” he said. He said Aker Biomarine is interested in working with seafood startups and changing this conservative dynamic.

"It’s been 14 years, $800 million invested, that’s what it takes to build a new resource, like krill," he said.

-- Rachel Sapin

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 16.22 GMT

De-risking seafood investment

Maren Hjorth Bauer, founder of Fynd Ocean Ventures, noted the oceans are an overlooked and underfunded sector for investors.

“Our approach here, we want to be a strategic investor,” she said, noting she wants to bring more capital into the seafood space.

Bringing more knowledge to investors with ocean-focused funds will also de-risk the sector for investors who have very little knowledge about seafood and ocean industries.

-- Rachel Sapin

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 16.21 GMT

Strong leader, strong vision

Ultimately, to drive innovation in your company, you need to have a strong leader and a strong vision, said Nolan Paul, Partner, Global Food & AgTech Lead at Yamaha Motor Ventures,

"There is not a good record of companies completely renewing and installing a culture of innovation," he said. "It should really be inbuilt into the culture and vision of the company."

"And for that you need a strong leader and a strong vision."

Then the company needs to understand where the competitive edge is and invest there, and galvanize around that, he said.

"You also must ensure R&D and innovation is aligned with the commercial side, sometimes there is mistrust there."

-- Dominic Welling

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 16.16 GMT

Nutreco looking to invest in new areas

In making investments Nutreco always looks for technology that makes a difference in value creation terms, the company’s director of venturing Joost Matthijssen outlined.

“We are looking to branch out into new areas such as services and healthy additives,” he said

-- John Evans

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 16.06 GMT

Exciting investment opportunities out there

Ignacio Kleiman of Antarctica Advisors said investors right now can handle aquaculture investments easier than they can whitefish because they are more stable and less complex.

However, disruptive technologies are among the most exciting investment opportunities in the view of Pareto Securities Senior Partner Henning Lund.

On the higher end of the scale this includes production of highly nutrient ingredients such as krill and algae, he said.

-- Rachel Sapin, John Evans

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 16.04 GMT

Looking regionally

Dombrowski of Wells Fargo would like to see wild seafood companies focus more on what can be done with traditionally regional US seafood products such as haddock and scallops. "Companies need to focus their products beyond the region they traditionally sell to," she said.

-- Rachel Sapin

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 15.54 GMT

Early days for seafood consolidation

Ignacio Kleiman of Antarctica Advisors, said US seafood companies are in the early stages of consolidation.

That’s why you can buy chicken and pork -- and even to a certain degree beef -- so cheaply in the US compared to the price of seafood.

"Those are highly-consolidated sectors, with large capital. That’s what we don’t have yet,” he said.

-- Rachel Sapin

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 15.50 GMT

Investors rarely make quick bucks

Operating as a public company depends on the size of the company, Bonafide Managing Director Christoph Baldegger said.

The same problems that affect sea-based businesses also apply to land-based firms.

“Normally in the first five years of an IPO investors don’t make money,” he said.

-- John Evans

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 15.47 GMT

You can’t just be a fishing company

Ignacio Kleiman of Antarctica Advisors said companies have to diversify horizontally.

Companies have to overcome being “just a fishing company,” and start controlling their route to market, and capture more of that margin across the value chain.

While you see salmon producers suffering, the price of salmon hasn’t changed.

“Somebody there is making money,” he said. “We have to start seeing more multi-species, multi-channel seafood companies.”

Otherwise, there will never be the scale and the ability to negotiate with retailers who are right now, capturing substantial margins, he said.

-- Rachel Sapin

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 15.44 GMT

Byproducts is a fast-growing business

While fish filleting remains a good business, healthcare supplements and fish offcuts are fast-growing and sustainable areas of the industry, according to Bonafide Managing Director Christoph Baldegger.

“Big companies such as Nestlé are seeking to go into these fields,” he said.

-- John Evans

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 15.41 GMT

Single-species companies should diversify

Jana Dombrowski from Wells Fargo said single-species companies -- regardless of the species -- can become more vulnerable with regulatory and logistical constraints.

“That gives them less flexibility and room to grow,” she said.

A strategy to help that is to invest in another species.

-- Rachel Sapin

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 15.39 GMT

The opportunities lie downstream

It is still early days for restructuring, consolidation and regulation in the salmon industry, said Henning Lund, senior partner at Pareto Securities.

“There are a lot of open opportunities downstream.”

-- John Evans

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 15.37 GMT

Investors see seafood’s resilience during COVID

Ignacio Kleiman, managing partner of Antarctica Advisors, said the industry has been able to move away from the temporary weakness of switching foodservice into retail, with some companies seeing massive benefits from the unique conditions of this year.

"I’ve had some people saying, ‘I wish we had a COVID every year'," he said.

Investors with a long-term view are taking advantage of the seafood market, where the market is highly liquid, and money is “dirt-cheap.”

They are seeing seafood’s resilience during the pandemic, according to Kleiman.

“Projects have been funded and transactions have taken place,” he said.

Investors have looked at this year as a year of resilience versus valuation.

“That’s how transactions have taken place,” he said.

-- Rachel Sapin

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 15.34 GMT

Chance of a lifetime to get into salmon production

Although the low hanging fruit in salmon has previously been taken, the COVID-19 crisis is presenting other opportunities, said Bonafide Managing Director Christoph Baldegger.

"There is probably a chance of a lifetime to get in cheap again and find value if you have the time horizon of two to five years."

-- John Evans

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 15.32 GMT

Seafood is not that expensive

Jana Dombrowski, senior vice president and food and agriculture advisor at Wells Fargo, said Americans are spoiled in terms of price points for proteins.

"You’ll see price increases across the board in food," she said of future trends. "Seafood will also be able to enact price increases that can be passed onto the consumer."

People are realizing the farmed product is also viable, she added.

"What I’m hoping for seafood is that people will be able to pay a little more," she said.

Other terrestrial proteins may not be able to keep on sustainability and social consciousness factors, helping seafood lure American consumers away from terrestrial proteins.

-- Rachel Sapin

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 15.30 GMT

Salmon an attractive proposition

Previously, one of the reasons for agricultural companies not getting into aquaculture was the previous boom and bust nature of the sector, said Pareto Securities Senior Partner Henning Lund.

But with supply issues now under control and salmon as attractive as other terrestrial proteins this may lure them into the sector

-- John Evans

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 15.24 GMT

Seafood remains risky for meat and poultry producers

Ignacio Kleinman, managing partner of Antarctica Advisors, said large animal protein companies are still a little perplexed by the complexity of seafood.

He added those sectors might gravitate to salmon or other species that are well-managed, but continue to function in a model that focuses on one species versus several.

“They find the sector a little riskier,” he said in terms of aquaculture. Yet, it makes sense for those animal protein producers to get into the sector.

“They have the capital, they have the longterm view on business.”

In many cases, the lifecycle of the seafood animals is substantially shorter than the lifecycle of beef, he gave as one example.

The price point is also expensive for large producers.

“The industry needs to get to lower costs and higher efficiencies to be competitive there,” he said. “But we have the health factor.”

-- Rachel Sapin

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 15.18 GMT

What will this recovery look like?

There’s been a swap between at-home and foodservice spending, said Michael Swanson, chief agricultural economist at US financial giant Wells Fargo. "Supermarkets have done well."

There’s been $20 billion a month in additional revenue in the supermarket chain, and some people may not want things to completely return to normal.

People will be lured to restaurants by their convenience when they reopen when they’re safe.

But the question remains, where is the channel and what is your share of the channel?

-- Rachel Sapin

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 15.13 GMT

Combining proteins

It would make sense that a company such as food processor JBS might want to get into several different proteins, according to Michael Swanson, chief agricultural economist at US financial giant Wells Fargo.

Investors want to talk about returns, not just size of operations. A JBS might want to offer aquaculture as part of a one-stop-shop.

It’s about execution, however.

Companies have to maintain a high management skill of the sector. If people don’t manage having multiple products well, they’re not likely to benefit from offering a variety of proteins.

In terms of aquaculture, you have to have a lot of capital all of the time. Wild catch is different, and more dependent on the season. That is a completely different mindset from the chicken industry.

-- Rachel Sapin

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 15.10 GMT

Consolidation continues toward 'supercenters'

Consolidation is going to be driven more by the superstore phenomenon, said Michael Swanson, chief agricultural economist at US financial giant Wells Fargo.

The biggest market trend has been supermarkets losing market share to the likes of Costcos, and Sam’s Clubs.

"We’re going to see more of that,” he said. "Coupled with more technology, more IT, you will see more of that."

All the consumer wants is consistency.

"Nobody wants to go to their store and not see their favorite food stocked that day,” he said.

-- Rachel Sapin

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 15.06 GMT

Taking on other proteins

Pork, poultry and other meat can be premium products, but in the future poultry will be cheap and pork will be cheap, according to Michael Swanson, chief agricultural economist at US financial giant Wells Fargo.

But seafood shouldn’t try to match up against those markets. The sector should instead focus on its healthy aspects, the variety, and how easy it is to prepare.

-- Rachel Sapin

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Wednesday, Dec. 2, 15.00 GMT

Lemonade out of lemons

"You can always make lemonade out of lemons," according to Michael Swanson, chief agricultural economist at US financial giant Wells Fargo.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused several American consumers to pivot towards cooking fish they buy from the grocery store at home versus ordering it at a restaurant.

"That’s going to be a positive outcome for seafood," he said.

-- Rachel Sapin

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 16.23 GMT

AI and Data across the value chain

Ferd Capital is banking on both artificial intelligence and data across the value chain from genetics to feed to the salmon “on the kitchen table,” said Tone Hanstad, the investment professional with Ferd Capital.

-- Demi Korban

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 16.22 GMT

Great companies, not interesting segments

Talseth agreed artificial intelligence and machine learning will transform the industry making it more sustainable and productive, however, Neptune NRCP looks for “great companies not interesting segments."

He added the need for external skill set to match the accelerated consumer trends with COVID moving from retail to home delivery.

-- Demi Korban

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 16.19 GMT

A groundswell sees the potential

It’s still early days but certain companies are bringing different stakeholders together, as they work out the best type of investment platform said Aqua-Spark Co-founder and Managing Partner Amy Novogratz.

“You are seeing what that means for exporters, retailers, certifiers, labelers everyone is interested in figuring this out together,” she said.

In Novogratz's view what’s exciting about aquaculture is there is a groundswell that sees the potential and a drive to work together.

-- John Evans

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 16.18 GMT

Size matters

“Focus is necessary but I’m a buy and build guy,” said Thor Talseth, founding partner at Neptune NRCP.

Size matters because it’s necessary for clients to retain and recruit talent needed to innovate as well as attract capital.

“You need to grow in a focused way because you can’t be world champion across the value chain."

-- Demi Korban

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 16.13 GMT

New ocean-based fund is a hit

In August S2G Ventures, a Chicago-based investment firm focused on food and agriculture, human health, climate change, and planet health, established a new oceans and seafood investment team with commitments of up to $100 million.

“We’ve had about 350 to 400 discussions with companies at this point in the sector who are looking for capital,” Mettler said in relation to that fund.

--Rachel Sapin

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 16.11 GMT

Ticking the generalist investors’ boxes

Neptune NRCP focuses on its networks and relationships in the sector to identify the “good opportunities,” said Thor Talseth, founding partner at the firm.

“Generalist investors seek to invest in the sector but only see the tip of the iceberg, whereas we are going in the layers that are less familiar to them,” Talseth said.

Neptune helps these smaller companies reach their full potential to be recognized and tick the boxes for generalist investors who have the capital to invest in the industry.

-- Demi Korban

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 16.03 GMT

ESG investment focus aquaculture pays dividends

When you have an environmental, social, corporate governance (ESG) investment focus, aquaculture works better, according to Aqua-Spark Co-founder and Managing Partner Amy Novogratz.

“You have better profitability and production…fish performs better when water quality is good and it is fed better,” she said.

-- John Evans

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 16.01 GMT

Tremendous shift for aquaculture’s image

The aquaculture industry has shifted a lot in the last 15 to 20 years when it comes to sustainability, said Thor Talseth, founding partner at Neptune NRCP.

“The industry became better operators and its shows in the profit and loss statement — it’s all about fish welfare,” Talseth said.

Investors see aquaculture as an attractive strategy to produce healthy protein and that is helping the sector stack up against others in the food agri world.

-- Demi Korban

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 16.00 GMT

Sustainability helps funds perform better

Sustainability helps funds perform better, according to Larsen Mettler, managing director of Oceans and Seafood at S2G Ventures.

S2G Ventures started in 2014 as a pioneer in sustainability in food and agriculture. Seafood and oceans investing is an extension of that.

“It only makes sense for businesses and investors to plan for decades ahead,” he said.

Morgan Stanley put out a report at the start of this pandemic, that the first half of 2020 funds with ESG and sustainability built into them have outperformed funds without them.

--Rachel Sapin

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 15.58 GMT

Value in being partners

Ferd Capital has different divisions with different focuses, but dived into aquaculture because there’s a lot of innovation in the space.

“We hope players like us can be valuable partners,” Ferd Capital Investment Professional Tone Hanstad said.

“We want to contribute with more than capital and bringing something to the table with our own and other industry’s knowledge."

-- Demi Korban

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 15.53 GMT

Value chain experience is key

Having experience across the value chain is important for us as investor, Neptune NRCP Founding Partner Thor Talseth said.

“As a farmer you see what works and doesn’t work in terms of feed, services or inputs."

-- John Evans

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 15.51 GMT

Show some respect

Anyone considering jumping on the land-based bandwagon and launching a new project, must have respect for the complexity of the technology, advised Ohad Maiman, CEO of The Kingfish Company.

“A bit like operating a submarine or a spacecraft – it is do-able, but it shouldn’t be done lightly or without careful thought.”

He added that while some argue RAS is suitable for any species of fish in any part of the world, “the right choice of species and the right choice of market is a key component of building a successful project.”

-- Dominic Welling

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 15.49 GMT

Don’t fear over demand

Producers shouldn’t fear the threat of over demand, Kolbjorn Giskeodegaard CFO & Co-founder of Columbi Salmon said.

“If you don’t manage to bring up the fish the rest falls apart.”

-- John Evans

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 15.45 GMT

Growing from good news to successful stories

Trias of Stolt noted having the necessary technical skills, controlling biological risks and having successful stories are important to the land-based industry continuing to grow.

“This industry will grow from good news and successful stories,” he said.

Meanwhile, Wulf said it is the combination of continued improvement in RAS technology itself coupled with the husbandry of the fish.

“You’re still raising a live being,” she said.

And the other issue is how to bring land-based seafood to the consumer in the right way to allow the industry to grow.

--Rachel Sapin

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 15:44 GMT

Consumers aren’t interested in the technicalities

Antibiotics-free and local. That’s what people want, according to Ohad Maiman, CEO of The Kingfish Company.

“We work closely with the retailers and there are two key messages consumers looks for: antibiotic free and local. They are not interested in the technicalities of RAS.”

-- Dominic Welling

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 15:42 GMT

Land based will eventually trend to a cost game

Land-based is currently a niche product in a period where you need a higher premium, Kolbjorn Giskeodegaard CFO & Co-founder of Columbi Salmon said.

In the long run it’s probably trending to a cost game particularly if land-based production reaches 1-2 million tons in the next 10-15 years, the executive added.

“Segmentation is working to a certain point.”

-- John Evans

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 15:41 GMT

Feed companies are looking to be closer to projects

Wulf said the company has conversations with major feed producers about where they are locating a facility, and what are the components of the feed.

She said looking at alternative ingredients has allowed feed companies to locate in different parts of the world, closer to land-based facilities.

“Those companies are already in the design and development,” she said.

--Rachel Sapin

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 15:40 GMT

COVID helps to highlight usefulness of RAS

At the start of the pandemic, issues such as local food production, and a reduction in both carbon footprint and imports became hot topics.

“COVID brought the issue of food security into focus,” said Ohad Maiman, CEO of The Kingfish Company.

But RAS takes time.

“All these projects fundraising today – there will only be producing fish in 2-3 years time from now, if all goes well.

“Hopefully beyond the timeline of COVID.”

-- Dominic Welling

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 15:39 GMT

Need for evolution

Trias of Stolt said there has to be an evolution. “I see lots of companies working in the same direction, this will yield big results,” he said.

He said in his company’s case, they are seeing lots of decreases in fishmeal in diets.

--Rachel Sapin

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 15:36 GMT

Premium pricing does not work

Premium pricing has never been sustainable, Wulf said.

In terms of marketing, the message should be the quality and the ability to produce locally.

It’s also the antibiotic-free method.

“That’s going to become increasingly important,” she said.

What consumers care about is affordability, quality, and taste and texture.

--Rachel Sapin

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 15:36 GMT

Land-based is ripe for renewables

The Kingfish Company’s operations in the Netherlands use 100 percent renewable energy and the plan is for something similar in the US too, said Ohad Maiman, CEO of the company.

“In the US we use solar panels on the roof -- I’m not sure 100 percent renewable is doable, but it will be close.”

Nevertheless, land-based systems in general can encourage renewable development, so it is ideal for these kind of initiatives, he said.

--Dominic Welling

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 15:35 GMT

Land-based gets a boost from the pandemic

"The fragility of our supply chains were disrupted with COVID," Wulf said. That gap can now be filled with domestic production.

She says there are lots of benefits from land-based salmon that are now being seen as increasingly important as a result of the pandemic.

“With domestic production and accessibility, we can be at a pivot point,” she said, and provide American consumers with more access to seafood.

--Rachel Sapin

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 15:34 GMT

Investments imply risk

Investors need to take some risk and this should be reflected in the price they get from an IPO Kolbjorn Giskeodegaard CFO & Co-founder of Columbi Salmon said.

He added that all kinds of investments carry risk whether from private equity or other types.

-- John Evans

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 15:32 GMT

Collaborating with universities is crucial

Collaborating with universities that offer aquaculture programs is an important tool to help with learning and development within the land-based sector, said Ohad Maiman, CEO of The Kingfish Company.

“We have collaborated with universities with aquaculture programs in both the Netherlands and the US and they are important for small RAS projects looking to get into the sector.”

“The higher the profile of the sector gets, the more educational institutions will get involved and support it with training programs."

-- Dominic Welling

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 15:31 GMT

Investment is still in early stages

How you finance your project really depends on what your project looks like, Wulf said.

"IPOs are certainly a way to fund a project. We’re public. Your financing has to be part of your business plan,” she said, adding it varies from firm to firm.

For land-based, she said financing is still in the early stages.

There is still tremendous opportunity to enhance and reduce the CAPEX.

Now is the time to invest, she said, because the costs will eventually come down.

-- Rachel Sapin

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 15:30 GMT

Choosing the right site

GM salmon farmer Aquabounty’s newest land-based salmon farm will be located in Mayfield, Kentucky, and will be its first large-scale commercial facility with a planned production capacity of 10,000 metric tons annually, about eight times the size of its currently operating farm in Albany, Indiana, which has a 1,200 metric ton annual production capacity, the company said.

Sylvia Wulf, CEO of AquaBounty, said it’s important when choosing a land-based facility to make sure you have access to the right quantity and quality of water.

“The second is the utilization of your waste stream,” she said.

Wulf believes re-stimulating the US rural economy is a key aspect of the company’s business plan, and why it is currently focused on the US Midwest.

-- Rachel Sapin

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 15:29 GMT

Oslo the market to list on

Kolbjorn Giskeodegaard CFO & Co-founder of Columbi Salmon sees Oslo as the natural place to invest.

“Olso is the market for seafood companies in the world.”

-- John Evans

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 15:23 GMT

Ticking all the boxes

After five years the time is right for a listing on the Oslo Stock Excange's lower cap market, said Ohad Maiman, CEO of The Kingfish Company.

"It was quite important for us to feel comfortable with the proof of concept first," he said. "Five years ago, our investor presentations were very basic.

"The main issues were will it work? Will the fish taste good? Now we've managed to tick both those things."

The company therefore felt now is the time to turn to scale and it chose to go public in Oslo for the efficiency it offers in terms of raising investor interest and financing.

-- Dominic Welling

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 15:15 GMT

Location is everything

From our location you can reach 25 percent of global salmon consumers, said Kolbjorn Giskeodegaard CFO & Co-founder of Columbi Salmon.

“We found a business climate that was very friendly for us.”

-- John Evans

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 15:13 GMT

A lot will come from the boom

“We’ve been farming in land-based for more than 35 years and we really welcome this boom of new species jumping into land-based," said Jordi Trias, president of Stolt Sea Farm.

“This is a new moment for those companies testing, going for scale-up. What I expect is a lot of innovation to come from this boom."

There are still challenges, such as biological safety as well as having enough talent to meet the growing land-based salmon industry globally, he added.

"We need to convince more people to come into the aquaculture industry.”

-- Rachel Sapin

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 15:09 GMT

Land based farming an easy choice

In the past two to three years most of the innovative work has been in land-based farming, Kolbjorn Giskeodegaard CFO & Co-founder of Columbi Salmon said.

"It was an easy choice for me," he said about moving from being a Nordea Markets analyst into the land-based salmon farming sector.

-- John Evans

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 14:45 GMT

Procrastinators -- there's still time to register for today's Seafood Investor Forum. You're not going to want to miss this. First up: our expert panel of land-based salmon and aquaculture producers will discuss the challenges and opportunities in the sector.

Click here to join the discussion LIVE!

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Tuesday, Dec. 1, 14:30 GMT

We're just about to kick off our largest seafood investing event online, bringing together the world's largest top executives in the aquaculture, fisheries and aquatech sectors together with the investors driving the growth.

This is our 15th Seafood Investor Forum, and we'll be hosting it over two days -- Dec. 1 and 2 -- with panels and one-on-ones.

Confirmed speakers and panelists include:

  • Matts Johansen, CEO, Aker BioMarine
  • Tone Hanstad, Ferd Capital
  • Amy Novogratz, Aqua-Spark
  • Sylvia Wulf, CEO, AquaBounty
  • Joost Matthijssen, Director of Venturing, Nutreco
  • Jana Dombrowski, Wells Fargo
  • Jordi Trias, President, Stolt Sea Farms
  • Thor Talseth, Neptune Partners
  • Ohad Maiman, CEO, The Kingfish Company
  • Christoph Baldegger, Bonafide
  • Ignacio Kleiman, Antarctica Advisors
  • Kolbjorn Giskeodegaard, Columbi Salmon
  • Bryton Shang, CEO, Aquabyte
  • Larsen Mettler, S2G Ventures
  • Michael Swanson, Wells Fargo
  • Maren Hjorth Bauer, Fynd Ocean Ventures
  • Nolan Paul, Yamaha Ventures