By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media
Finance Earth, in collaboration with World Wildlife Fund and Sky Ocean Rescue, has just launched Blue Impact Fund, the UK’s first fund focused on improving and protecting the resilience and recovery of the world’s oceans by targeting investments in enterprises producing sustainable seafood and aquatic plants.
Since 2018 Finance Earth and World Wildlife Fund have collaborated to research and map the most impactful investment opportunities within the blue economy. Together they landed on seafood and aquatic plants and their associated supply chains as being market-positioned opportunities with significant demand that foster long-term social and environmental benefits.
Over the coming decade, the blue economy is expected to double, however, the extractive nature of our relationship with the world’s oceans and its wildlife continues to lessen marine biodiversity and negatively impact habitats. Additionally, only a fraction of the current marine enterprises in operation are working to reduce these outcomes.
Growth in global demand for seafood has increased at 3.2 percent per year since 1960, outpacing the 1 percent annual growth in global population, according to Philippe de Lapérouse, co-head and managing director with HighQuest Consulting. Over the same time period, per capita consumption of seafood has more than doubled from 10 kilograms per person to more than 20 kilograms per person today – an unsustainable dynamic that is creating a scenario that will see global fisheries collapse before 2050, according to Good Catch.
Additionally, aquaculture is the fastest growing segment in animal protein production, and was named as one of the Ag Sectors to Watch in 2019 by HighQuest Consulting. And predictive modeling by The World Bank estimates that by 2030, 62 percent of food fish will be provided through aquaculture according to the report, Fish to 2030, Prospects for Fisheries and Aquaculture – a trend that is also indicative of ongoing demand for aquatic plants.
Along these lines, the Seaweed for Europe report outlines that by 2030 the seaweed sector has the potential to be key in combating climate change, increasing food security, and improving society by creating 85,000 jobs across the European bloc.
“There is potential to kick-start a green recovery in coastal areas dealing with the double whammy of Covid-19 pandemic and the impact of long-term economic decline,” said Jamie Mansfield, co-founder and managing director, Finance Earth.
“The ambition is to provide funding for a vibrant ecosystem of small, high-growth enterprises in the marine seafood sector and so create new markets to boost the UK sustainable blue economy.”
Toward this end Finance Earth has built out a diverse pipeline across three themes:
~ Marine aquaculture, including both offshore and near-shore production, and land-based Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS),
~ Fisheries,
~ And seafood supply chain enterprises, including upstream like sustainable fish feed, and downstream processing and sales.
Compounding its potential benefit, the Blue Impact Fund is aligned with the charity organization the Ocean Recovery Trust that strives to restore ocean health through innovation, conservation programs, increasing sustainability in the blue economy, building capacity, and fostering ocean restoration. These efforts will be funded via a “conservation dividend” granted from the Blue Impact Fund along with philanthropic donations.
– Lynda Kiernan is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and Agtech Intel News, and HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She is also a contributor to the GAI Gazette. She can be reached at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com
The post Finance Earth Launches Ocean-Focused Blue Impact Fund appeared first on Global AgInvesting.