Description

Oceano Fresco is a shellfish aquaculture company that aims to feed the world sustainably.

This is the promotor's 17th Goparity campaign and the first of the Hatchery series. 

This campaign aims to finance productivity increases in the bivalve hatchery, to increase the production and consistency of Venerupis corrugata and Ruditapes decussatus seeds throughout the year. More specifically:

• Broodstock: study and improvement of broodstock conditioning protocols
• Spawning phase: study and improvement of assisted spawning protocols
• Seed stage: testing and improving equipment to allow altered water flow resulting in improved growth/survival
• Algae: study of new recipes/species and acquisition of photo-bioreactor equipment to scale up the hatchery's feeding capacity
• Microbiology: study and improvement of hygiene protocols and control of water requirements, and acquisition of UV equipment for water treatment

The company has raised 2.98 million euros through Goparity's investor community since its first campaign in January 2020:

• The amount raised in Oceano Fresco I, II, III, IV, V, and VI campaigns (730,000€) was used to co-finance the installation of the world's first open sea clam farm in Lagos, Algarve. The clams are suspended in the open sea, where they can grow sustainably in their natural environment.
• The amount raised in Oceano Fresco Innovation I, II, and III campaigns (500,000€) was used to co-finance two research and development (R&D) projects focused on the cultivation of clams and one project in the area of food innovation. The R&D projects in the areas of genetics and pathology are highly innovative worldwide, leading to two incentives totaling 2.0 million. The food innovation project aims to develop new products and packaging to create value and promote sustainable clam consumption.
• The amount raised in Oceano Fresco Growth I, II, III, and IV campaigns (1.000.000€) was used for cultivation, operations, sales, marketing, and R&D. The Growth series meant to finance projects that enhance the growth of the company's production to enter the market with a larger sales scale.
• The amount raised on Oceano Fresco Farm I, II, and III (750.000€) was used to continue financing projects that enhance and grow the company's production.

In August 2020, the company started clam seed production at the Biomarine Center in Nazaré, a pioneering project in Europe, which included the bivalve hatchery, a laboratory with R&D and offices. In June of the same year, it completed the installation of the open sea farm in Lagos, with an area of 100 hectares and the capacity to produce 600 tons of clams per year, thus achieving total control of the production cycle of this bivalve. The year 2021 marked the start of the first production with the hatchery managing to produce more than 50 million clam seeds, and these same clams are growing well in the open sea.

In 2021, Oceano Fresco doubled the number of employees, creating a team of people composed of several nationalities and talents with a great passion in common: to contribute to feeding the world sustainably. In 2022, Oceano Fresco built the new boat 'Oceano Fresco l' and the Operations Center in Nazaré. To accompany this growth and innovation, Oceano Fresco has a new office at University NOVA SBE in Carcavelos (Lisbon) to create value for its clients, consumers, and stakeholders.

In 2023, Oceano Fresco announced its new Board of Directors, which includes experts in various fields who contribute to the vision of innovation and growth for a sustainable Blue Economy. In the same year, the company also announced a reinforcement of its innovation program, with the key projects Atlanticlam and the Blue Bioeconomy Pact.

The Impact

Direct

• Increase productivity in the bivalve’s production: Oceano Fresco will invest in research and improvements of each phase of the shellfish development in a nursery, to increase productivity throughout the year, maintaining quality and safety.
• Promotion of restoration of marine ecosystems: By increasing the production capacity in the nursery, Oceano Fresco implements regenerative cultivation practices that contribute to restoring stocks of these European-native species of bivalves under risk.
• Promotion of innovation in the aquaculture industry: in terms of processes and technology, through research and development.

Indirect

• Promotion of the marine ecosystem through sustainable marine economic activities: a sustainable alternative to intensive fishing as a source of protein, the sustainable production of clams contributes to the restoration of biodiversity and marine stocks. The bivalves’ cultivation occurs without artificial feed and requires low energy consumption. They filtrate the water improving its quality and absorb CO2 to build their shells.
• Promotion of higher level of productivity and job creation decoupled from environmental degradation: Oceano Fresco research and development and biotechnology units in the region of Nazaré represent the creation of economic opportunities and jobs, including highly qualified, in a less-developed region of Portugal. All while striving to restore marine ecosystems, decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation.

Contribution to the Sustainable
Development Goals

Sustainable Development Goals

Financial viability

Download the Financial Statements for the promoter here

Download Key Investment Information Sheet

The Promoter

About Oceano Fresco S.A.

Oceano Fresco was founded in 2015 by Bernardo Ferreira de Carvalho.

The company is focused on sustainable aquaculture of high-value bivalves (European clams), using scientific research and methods, and an innovative approach in the systematic improvement of aquaculture. Funded in 2015 by Bernardo Ferreira de Carvalho, the company's motto is: “we can regenerate nature if we farm and eat better”. The company is led by a Board of five Directors with scientific, financial, and business experience, including launching and scaling up of start-ups. They are supported by a growing Operational Team (43 people) covering R&D, production, and business and several Advisory Board members with world-renowned fish breeding experts.

The company has built a state-of-the-art Biomarine Center, including a hatchery, labs, and offices in central Portugal, as well as a 100-hectare sea farm off the coast of the Algarve region. With these rare and complementary assets, the company will apply advanced selection and breeding methods to native European clam species of high nutritional and market value, which are presently being replaced in the market by their low-value Asian counterparts (low organoleptic value). 

The team

Bernardo Carvalho

CEO and Managing Director

Entrepreneur and independent consultant for leading companies in agro-genetics, pharma, and banking.

Frederico Reis

CCO and Managing Director

Marketing & Sales senior executive with >15 years in FMCG, Consumer Healthcare, Electronics and food Retail across Europe.

Nuno Arantes Oliveir

Co-founder and Advisory Board Chairman

Life Science executive and entrepreneur. PhD in Genetics. MIT Portugal, NOVA-SBE. 200M Fund. Research at Univ. of California.

Olivier Cottet

Member of the Advisory Board

Plant breeding specialist. >20 years experience managing breeding programs at Syngenta.

Stan Allen

Member of the Advisory Board

Shellfish breeding specialist. Director of Aquaculture Genetics and Breeding Technology Center at Virginia Institute of Marine Science (USA)

Josien Bakker

Non-executive Director Aqua Spark

Francisco Belo

Non-executive Directo, BlueCrow Capital

Rui Rodrigues

Non-executive Director, Indico Capital Partners

Business Model

Updates