August 11, 2020

The Nature Conservancy on the lookout for next-gen sustainable aqua farms

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) will work with Hatch Blue to identify the next generation of sustainable aquaculture farms, The Fish Site reported.

TNC seeks to discover commercial companies that could dramatically boost benefits and mitigate the environmental impact of aquaculture productions. The organisation, which focuses on the sustainable provision of food and water to the world's populations, places aquaculture as a strategic area of interest for its food sustainability programme.

TNC will meet its objectives through its sustainable aquaculture strategy and conservation investing unit, NatureVest, which will source and utilise $1 billion of investment capital for conservation by 2021. It will identify companies seeking private sector investment and further its conservation objectives, mainly in two key areas:

-  Companies building or growing "restorative" shellfish or seaweed farms, offshore (open ocean) farming, or land-based recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS);

- Companies developing technologies that enable environmentally sustainable and profitable farming in the categories above, such as alternative feeds, automation, animal health and genetics.

In addition, TNC also showed interests in higher-risk opportunities with a potential for disruptive innovation that could boost sustainable aquaculture productions.

The organisation is collaborating with Hatch Blue, a venture platform for innovation in the aquaculture industry, to establish a database of potential investees.

Hatch Blue will, on behalf of TNC, reach out to potential investees to assess their capital requirements, investment-readiness and suitability based on TNC's conservation and investment criteria.

- The Fish Site