Here’s why…
It’s no secret that the planet is in danger. But when that terrifyingly familiar idea comes to mind, many people probably think of large-scale economic disasters like deforestation, climate change, or marine oil spills, even aquaculture has recently entered the list of threats to the environment. This is a conundrum that investors are actively working to unravel.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration defines aquaculture as “the reproduction, rearing and harvesting of fish, crustaceans, algae and other organisms in all types of aquatic environments” and plays a major role in the world’s food supply.
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10bn people will need food by 2025
According to a peer-reviewed paper published in Environmental International, a whopping 50% of all seafood consumed worldwide came from aquaculture in 2016 (via ScienceDirect). The Nature Conservancy predicts that the world population will reach 10 billion by 2050, so most projections argue that this demand will continue to grow.
According to Environmental International, as the aquaculture industry grows and moves toward sustainability trends, fish farms are using more and more plant-based feeds.
Related Article: Can Aquaculture solve China’s food demand?
CREO Syndicate
Today, the CREO Syndicate, a non-profit network of nearly 200 investors around the world, believes the aquaculture industry will need more funding than ever before (according to SeafoodSource).
SeafoodSource says CREO is working towards its primary goal of decarbonisation, and is actively investing $1 trillion in it. A similar coalition of independent sustainability-focused investors within CREO, Oceans, Seafood, and Aquaculture Investor Consortium (OSAIC), is donating $250 million.
At Blue Food’s April 2022 Innovation Summit, Maggie Fried (leader of CREO’s Marine and Aquaculture Investor Consortium) cited Nature’s Conservancy in his 2019 report as a source of inspiration for the organization. I quoted “Towards a Blue Revolution”. The report cites aquaculture as the world’s fastest growing source of food production.
Related article: Is Aquaculture the solution for the US’s high demand for seafood imports?
A $243bn industry and rapidly growing
A $243 billion industry, worldwide he reportedly employs 20 million people, many of whom live in emerging markets. Given the sheer scale of aquaculture, the survival of the industry is essential to avoiding a global food crisis.
The Nature Conservancy warns that “global dependence on seafood can threaten marine ecosystems and the livelihoods they support in many ways, especially in coastal areas and developing countries.” It is not only a question of sustainability and finance, but also of human survival.
Fortunately, The Nature Conservancy has partnered with Encourage Capital to produce a 163-page guide to implementing sustainable practices in the global aquaculture industry by 2025 (via Nature.org), along with their specifics.
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Source: Tasting Table
