Aquaculture finalists dominate seafood funding competition

Sustainable seafood business competition Fish 2.0 has selected 37 companies to pitch to investors at its Stanford University final in November, with aquaculture-focused businesses representing over a third of the group.

            The competition, that aims to help build knowledge and investor connections in the global seafood industry after founder Monica Jain noticed a huge hole in investor portfolios, received 170 applications from businesses across the globe. This is twice the number that applied in the competition’s first iteration in 2013.

            “The diversity and breadth of the finalists shows that innovation in seafood is growing all over the world. We are especially excited to see sustainability and invention taking root in the markets where the fish are coming from, not just where they are consumed—and to see change happening throughout the supply chain,” wrote Jain in a press release.

            Nearly two-thirds (23) of the companies are post-revenue ventures that can demonstrate a market for their products—and those products are on the leading edge of innovation in aquaculture, aquaponics, technology, wild capture products, traceability, and the supply chain.

            The group of finalists is also notably international: only 17 businesses are based in the United States, including two with operations in Chile; six are in Canada; four are based in Latin America; five operate in the South Pacific; two are based in Europe; and three are in Southeast Asia.

            Some of the North American aquaculture finalists include: Acadia Harvest, in Maine (land-based aquaculture); Blue Farms Hawaii, Hawaii (aquaponics); Kampachi Farms, Mexico (deep-water aquaculture); Target Marine Hatcheries, Canada (aquaculture technology); Taste of BC, Canada (land-based steelhead salmon culture); The RiverBox, Canada (aquaculture technology); and TimberFish Technologies, New York (aquaculture technology).