Description

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

This is the promotor's 19th Goparity campaign and the third of the Hatchery series.

This campaign aims to keep financing productivity increases in the bivalve hatchery, to increase the production and consistency of Venerupis Corrugata and Ruditapes Decussatus seeds throughout the year. In particular:

• Research & Development focused on continuous improvement of cultivation protocols to enhance growth and survival efficiency for the primary species, Venerupis Corrugata, across its various stages (broodstock, larvae, and seed).
• Strengthening efforts for the secondary hatchery species, Ruditapes Decussatus, at all stages (broodstock, larvae, and seed), involving broodstock from diverse origins and partnerships with other bivalve hatcheries.
• Feasibility study for future CAPEX investment to optimize production efficiency in the hatchery.
• Ongoing improvement and broodstock management program for both species, supported by internal R&D and collaborations with external scientific entities.

The company has raised 3.7 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 has 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.
• The amount raised in Bivalves Hatchery I and II  (730.000€) was used to increase the production and consistency of seeds throughout the year, including cultivation of microalgae, the sole food source for bivalves.

Oceano Fresco is a pioneering company in the sustainable, large-scale farming of bivalves. The company started in 2015, and initially focused on studying and creating the scientific foundations for the project. In a second phase, between 2020 and 2021, the company invested in building and operating its main assets, namely the BioMarinho center, including a state-of-the-art hatchery, located in Nazaré and the first open-sea nursery for clams located off Lagos, in the Portuguese region of the Algarve. In a third phase, since 2022, Oceano Fresco has focused on controlling and improving its production process throughout the various stages of the 3-year clam life cycle. 

The hatchery stage operates relatively successfully and has already produced over 100 million clam seeds. Its current challenges are maintaining microbiological control, improving its efficiency, and increasing its production capacity. The fattening stage is implemented but holds inherent challenges, related to the pioneering and innovative nature of the operation. Initially, the challenges were operational, linked to scaling and the learning curve, these are now largely under control.  Later, the main challenges became linked to open sea farming, where the company continued to improve its processes to find the best fit for the various species of bivalves. 

The promoter's main objective remains to achieve market entry with large-scale harvests and revenues. As such, the company has raised support and funding from diverse sources, including bank loans, public subsidies, and equity rounds. The most recent round which took place in December 2023, found support in known existing and new investors. Oceano Fresco has a history of crowdlending with Goparity and its investors who have accompanied the company's development through the various phases and years, enabling the pioneering mission of creating a sustainable, large-scale shellfish farming company.

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

Partners

Indico Capital

Indico Capital invests amounts ranging from 100K to 10M euros in areas such as biotech. They believe the Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian ecosystems possess strong engineering talent capable of generating innovative businesses and sustainable solutions globally.

Banco Português do Fomento

The BPF aims for the country's development by boosting entrepreneurial capacity, investment, and job creation, and promoting sustainability and economic, social, and territorial cohesion.