Description

Oceano Fresco's mission is to contribute to a more sustainable food production, by producing high-quality bivalve species through science-driven aquaculture in a pioneer project in Europe. After raising more than 700.000€ with GoParity, which was used to buy equipment to install the first open sea off-shore farm in Algarve, the company is now raising 350.000€ as a bridge loan to develop two R&D projects, specifically in projects regarding genetics, pathology, and cultivation of clams. These projects, which will be developed in the maternity and nursery, are highly innovative and pioneering worldwide, having guaranteed the company two incentives worth 1,4 million euros to co-finance an overall investment of 2 million euros.

The clam seeds cultivation started in August 2020 in a new world-class Biomarine Center in Nazaré that integrates a bivalve hatchery, R&D laboratories, and the company's offices. 

In June 2020, the company concluded the setup of the first off-shore clam farm in the world, occupying 100 hectares, in the south of Portugal, 5 km from Lagos/Alvor coast (Algarve), fundamental to completing the biological cultivation cycle.

By March 2021, Oceano Fresco had 2,5 million clam seeds ready to be sent to the off-shore farm in Algarve.

Oceano Fresco is not only the first company cultivating clams off-shore but also thrives in growing the clam culture by bringing innovation to different clam species focusing on genetics, pathology, and cultivation. 

The Impact

It is predicted that food production must double by 2050 to meet the demand from the world’s growing population. A sustainable blue economy will play a central role in alleviating the multiple demands on land resources and in tackling climate change. The sector can contribute by promoting the sustainable use of aquatic and marine resources and by providing an alternative source of protein with less environmental impact.

This project, by investing in research and development (R&D), will have the following impact:

• Creation of 4 new job positions directly related to the research project, beyond the current 23 employees of the company. Furthermore, depending on the results of the research, the company will hire other 6 to 12 people;
• Increase in the production productivity, in which it will be possible to produce more clams using less resources for each Kg produced. The company expects to triple the clam’s production with the same level of resources usage, what they will be able to confirm with tests within the R&D project;
• The investment in research and development (R&D) promotes innovation in the industry, in terms of processes and technology. The project thrives for a greater understanding of clams’ genetics and its main disease, the development of new cultivation technologies but also improved cultivation processes;
• By providing an alternative source of protein, the sustainable cultivation of clams will not only contribute to alleviating the multiple demands on land resources, but also to restoring marine resources and the seas’ biodiversity, by being an alternative to intensive fishing.

This project will also have a positive indirect impact on the local economy, through collaboration with the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR) and the region’s producers.

Click here to read the article "Can the ocean feed us sustainably?" written by Rodrigo Clímaco, responsible for the clam farm of Oceano Fresco.

Impact Indicators

2

jobs created

Contribution to the Sustainable
Development Goals

Sustainable Development Goals

Financial viability

The off-shore farm will have a total investment of 3,1 million euros, of which 1,5 million were secured by the MAR2020 program; 800K€ by the company's own capital and the remaining through various campaigns with GoParity.

In April 2020, Oceano Fresco announced the closing of a 3,8M€ additional investment from BlueCrow Capital, the funds' manager of the Venture Capital BlueCrow Innovation, which invests in national industrial R&D projects, operating in the economy and in innovative production technologies. So far, the total aggregate investments are close to 7.2M€ for the construction of Oceano Fresco’s Bio Marine Centre in Nazaré and its off-shore exploration.

In 2021, Oceano Fresco secured an additional 1,4 million euros to finance the two R&D projects, which will be paid in the next two years. The funds raised through this campaign will be used as a bridge loan, until the payments start.

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

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