First-Ever Sustainable Seafood Investment Holding Company Launched

February 15, 2017

Zoma Capital, the family investment office of Ben and Lucy Ana Walton, and Encourage Capital announced that the two have partnered to launch Pescador Holdings, the first-of-its-kind sustainable seafood investment holding company.

The launch of the fund, which will be seeded with an initial commitment of $10 million from Zoma Capital,  is the culmination of more than two years of investment research funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Rockefeller Foundation under the Vibrant Oceans Initiative – a $53 million, five-year effort that integrates financial strategies that are geared to facilitate the transition to more sustainable fishing, and aims to boost fish populations in Brazil, the Philippines, and Chile.

Toward this common goal, impact investment firm Encourage Capital released Investing for Sustainable Global Fisheries  – an investment framework designed to reclaim economic losses incurred as a result of poor management of fisheries while also restoring ocean ecosystems, lifting the sustainable seafood supply, and improving the standard of living for the poor in seafood-dependent markets.

“The Zoma Capital and Encourage Capital partnership marks the first time that a research-based, mission aligned investment company has been designed from the ground up to capitalize on the demand for more sustainable seafood,” said Jason Scott, managing partner of Encourage Capital. “Local company, government, non-profit and stakeholder partnerships are equally central to this groundbreaking systemic approach, ensuring the ongoing protection and restoration of fisheries.”

The Start of a Portfolio

For its initial investment, Pescador Holdings has made an undisclosed investment in Chile-based Geomar. Founded in 1993, Geomar is a vertically integrated “shore to shelf” sustainable seafood business that works with more than 700 artisanal fisheries in Chile to streamline the supply chain by direct-sourcing from 134 capture zones across Chile. Creating a premium seafood niche, the company then cans, transports, and sells the seafood directly to retailers in Chile, North America, Europe, and Asia.

Geomar’s central manufacturing hub is considered one of the most modern facilities in Chile’s seafood industry, and is currently located in Coronel – one of the poorest regions of the country. The company employs 150 people – mostly women, who are engaged in semi-skilled seafood processing work.

“We are excited to partner with Pescador Holdings to help us grow Geomar to meet its full commercial and impact potential. With these resources we will increase regional employment in Chile, increase the volume and quality of sustainable seafood sourced from fisherman, and invest in distribution of Geomar products directly to customers who appreciate high quality, sustainably sourced seafood.”

 The Heart of the Matter

Pescador’s investment mission will design strategies that have impact as their cornerstone, but which also generate returns and transform “investors into partners to help change the world,” according to a recent statement.

The firm plans to partner with businesses that are realizing benefits from the stabilization and restoration of fisheries; are well positioned to benefit from improvements in supply chain efficiencies, vertical integration, and higher-volume markets, and have the potential to generate higher financial returns as a result of increased volume availability. Its investment portfolio will consist of fishing companies and fishery improvements that protect and restore vital biomass stocks or marine habitats while also improving dependent communities.

“Pescador will invest in best in class sustainable seafood businesses for the long term,” said Melissa Cheong, chief investment officer with Zoma Capital. “We believe this sustainability-focused strategy will allow companies and ecosystems to meet their full financial and productivity potential by aligning the time frame of investments with the time frame of sustainably managed biological systems.”

 

-Lynda Kiernan

Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to GAI News. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com

 

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