August 2, 2023

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Luxembourg-based Ocean 14 Capital Fund has recently secured a €20 million (US$22 million) capital investment from Convex Group, and another €10 million (US$11 million) in commitments from family offices and high-net-worth individuals, leading the fund to exceed its initial target of €150 million (US$164 million) and set a new goal of €200 million (US$219 million) by the end of this year.

To-date, the fund has raised €160 million from investors, including Monaco’s sovereign wealth fund; the European Investment Fund (EIF); Niklas Zennström, the founder of Skype; and Ingka Group, which has committed €30 million.

With this backing, Ocean 14 stated that this fund will act as a tidal surge to supercharge the blue economy – an investment channel using ocean resources for economic growth and preservation, and which is forecast to have a value of $3 trillion by 2030, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

“The insurance industry can play a tangible role in the future of our planet and Convex sees investing in a sustainable blue economy as vital in our fight against the climate crisis,” said Benji Meuli, chief investment officer, Convex.

“Ocean 14 Capital Fund’s commitment to strategically supporting businesses and initiatives will drive the kind of change that will bring about a brighter, cleaner future for our oceans and the communities they sustain.”

Having already made five investments – including a €10 million investment in Brazilian tilapia producer Tilabras; an €11 million investment in Dutch yellowtail producer The Kingfish Company; other investments in shrimp breeding technology specialist SyAqua and plastics management platform AION – Chris Gorell Barnes, co-founder of Ocean 14 Capital, commented that the fund is on pace to build a portfolio totaling between 20-25 businesses in three years.

The fund’s most recent investment is a €10 million commitment to Norway’s Ava Ocean, a technology and seafood company with a mission to protect fragile ocean habitats and critical carbon sinks by reimagining the way seafood is harvested from the seabed.

The most widely conventional method of harvesting bottom dwelling seafood such as scallops is dredging, a system that inflicts a significant toll on the seabed and surrounding ecosystems, and one that is increasingly coming under the microscope of environmental activists and conservationists. 

In Norway, dredging has been banned for 30 years, but Ava Ocean has developed a method that has the potential to bring the possibility of harvesting bottom-dwelling seafood back to the country in a sustainable way. 

The company’s unique and non-invasive system involves an advanced water-flow system with AI camera technology to precision-pick targeted seafood from the ocean floor, and the ability to safely return smaller sized specimens or bycatch to the seabed undamaged. 

 “We are thrilled with our first investment in fisheries,” said Francisco Saraiva Gomes, founding partner and CIO, Ocean 14 Capital. “Ava shows the path for sustainable industrial fisheries, where technology enables, and business model captures, the convergence between both impact and financial gains. Our ocean needs us to eliminate predatory fishing activities quickly. Companies like Ava are the economically efficient answer to how precision fisheries will enable the ban of bottom trawling.”

Following extensive trials of the system conducted by the Norwegian Institute for Marine Research, the country’s government granted Ava Ocean the first license to harvest Arctic scallops in the Barents Sea in more than three decades, reflecting what a breakthrough this technology represents.

“Ava Ocean offers a commercially scalable solution to multiple stressors the ocean is subject to, which has far-reaching consequences for our climate, biodiversity, human health, and livelihoods,” said Maria de Perlinghi, partner and chief impact officer, Norselab. 

“It’s a real alternative to the destructive catching practices currently deployed in most countries globally. We believe Ava Ocean can generate system-level impact in the seafood industry.”

As an Oslo-based investment manager focused on impact through industrial transformation, Norselab has taken Ava Ocean through the critical phase of commercializing its research and technology, proving that the system is fully operational and profitable – and based on a single quota of arctic scallops, the company noted it is making solid positive margins with the solution. 

“We believe that the Fund’s strategic investment in Ava Ocean is significant,” said Barnes. “The global export market for scallops is worth an estimated $2.5 billion, but most of the scallop fishing industry uses dredging methods which have a devastating effect on seabed ecosystems and biodiversity. The technology developed by Ava Ocean can be rolled out on a global scale and could put an end to harmful seabed practice forever.”

“With the Ocean14 Capital Fund onboard, we can embark on the next chapter in Ava Ocean’s journey to reinvent seabed harvesting,” added Øystein Tvedt, CEO, Ava Ocean.

“The global potential for our solution is immense, and we are excited to be able to explore international opportunities with the support of the Ocean14 Capital Fund. They share our unwavering belief in bringing about real change through innovation and collaboration, and with their expertise in the global blue economy bring invaluable know-how ahead of this next phase for Ava Ocean. With the support of the Ocean 14 Capital Fund, along with our existing investors, we are well-positioned to scale our operations for international growth and to further develop our innovative solution.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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