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150.000 €

funded by 411 investors

Oceano Fresco IV

Location Pin Svg
Algarve, PT

instalment

monthly

term

4 years

a year

5.5%

rating

B-

The first open sea off-shore clam farm in the world in the south of Portugal.

Description

Oceano Fresco has recently concluded the set up 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).

This is the promoter’s fourth campaign through GoParity, after successfully completing three rounds of financing for a total amount of € 300,000, the amount used to order cables, chains, concrete blocks, buoys and lanterns needed to set up the farm. Since then, the company has completed the installation of the nursery, the next step being the purchase of a ship and the remaining equipment to begin exploration.

The structure of the clam farm is composed of submersed horizontal cables, on which lanterns (plates wrapped in a mesh) will be placed and where the clams will be cultivated.

The farm is fundamental to complete the biological cultivation cycle because, after the spawning and hatchery phase, clams need to grow-out until the adult edible size, promoting environmental sustainability, raising the satisfaction, and the security level for the final consumer. At the off-shore farm, the clams find the perfect conditions to complete the cycle, with a natural source of food and perfect environmental conditions. The cultivation is set to start in December.

Oceano Fresco BioMarine Center in Nazaré:

CEO & Founder Bernardo Carvalho at Oceano Fresco’s BioMarine Center:

The Impact

Ecosystems provide essential services such as food, fresh water, clean air, and shelter. They mitigate natural disasters, pests, and diseases and help regulate the climate. 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 a sustainable use of aquatic and marine resources and by providing an alternative source of protein that can relieve pressure on agricultural land.

The cultivation of clams is one of the most sustainable alternative sources of protein used nowadays with less environmental impact. This project will therefore have the following impact:

  • Once installed, the offshore farm will have the capacity to capture 266,73 tonnes of CO2 per year, based on an estimated annual production of 600 tons of clams. The cultivation of clams is one of the most sustainable alternative sources of protein used nowadays, with less environmental impact, as no chemicals or artificial feeds are used; as they have a filtering function fighting aquatic pollution; and as they capture CO2 in their shell formation;
  • 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.
  • At the moment, Oceano Fresco is constituted by 17 people. When the farm’s operation starts, an increase in staff to 100 people is forecasted in the upcoming years.

This project will also have a positive indirect impact on the local economy, mainly in the area where the farm is installed, Lagos by increasing the incomes of the people who work in this sector.

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

Impact Indicators

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44,45 t

CO2 avoided per year

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16,67

Hectares for biodiversity

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17

jobs created

Sustainable Development Goals

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Financial viability

The off-shore farm will have a total investment of 3,1M€, of which 1,5M€ were secured by the MAR2020 program and 800K€ by the company's own capital. Puro Mar wants to fund the remaining amount via various campaigns with GoParity. This is the fourth tranche of funding, after they have raised 150.000€ in the two previous ones.

Last April, 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 bioeconomy 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.

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Download Key Investment Information Sheet

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Guarantees

This project is secured with guarantee from the holding company, Oceano Fresco.

The Promoter

About PURO MAR - UNIPESSOAL, LDA

Puromar Lda is a subsidiary of Oceano Fresco SA and provides the service of the grown-out production in the open sea farm in the Algarve.

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. The company's motto is: “we can regenerate nature if we farm and eat better”. Oceano Fresco 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 (40 people) covering R&D, production, 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

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CEO & Executive Director

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

Frederico Reis

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CCO & Executive Director

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

Bernardo Empis Meira

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Chairman & Non-executive director, BlueCrow Capital

Experienced financial advisor with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry. Strong entrepreneurship professional skilled in Mergers & Acquisitions, Venture Capital, and Project Finance.

John Mairlot

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Non-executive Director, Aqua-Spark

Senior Investment Manager at Aqua-Spark

Hugo Augusto

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Non-executive Director, Semapa NEXT

Semapa NEXT CEO and entrepreneur

Nuno Arantes Oliveir

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Co-Founder & Chairman of the Advisory Board

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

Bjørn Skjævestad

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Advisory Board member

Owner of Altavida, Oslo. Numerous key roles in aquaculture, biotechnology and animal health ventures

Olivier Cottet

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Advisory Board member

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

Stan Allen

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Advisory Board member

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

Marco Dubbeldam

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Advisory Board member

Shellfish rearing specialist.

Business Model

The revenue source of Oceano Fresco is the high quality and value clam sale, where the market demand greatly exceeds the supply. The production will mainly be sold in Europe but also exported for sale to other regions such as Japan and South Korea. By controlling several steps in the value creation chain, Oceano Fresco is poised to become a leading producer of clams and eventually other bivalves in the foreseeable future. Over the last few years, the Company’s unique value proposition has led to it being awarded approximately 12 million euros in competitive grants and 7.5M€ in seed-stage equity investments.

The Company expects to reach a turnover of €9m in less than 3 years, and of €250m in a matter of 7 years. So far, it has reached out to over 50 potential customers (among shellfish distributors and supermarkets). Their intention to buy at the prices established in the business model largely exceeds the company’s production capacity in the first years, a positive sign for the company to achieve the predicted turnover.

Oceano Fresco has already assembled a world-class team of international advisors, managers, scientists, breeders, and technicians. Oceano Fresco aims to become a game-changer in the €20 billion shellfish market, contributing to higher levels of sustainability in European and global food production.

Active since

2014

Fiscal country

PT

Operating In

Nazaré and Algarve

Industry

Sustainable Aquaculture

Number of Goparity Loans

9

Women Shareholders

No

Updates

2021-02-18

Project Update

  • 2.5m seeds have been produced which are ready to go to the sea.
  • The reconfiguration and improvement of the 12-metre vessel has been finalised, and the boat is now ready operational at the port of Lagos.
  • Three more containers containing flashlights have been received.
  • Oceano Fresco has received notices of purchase interest from several potential customers which include supermarket chains, seafood distributors and purchasers.
  • Several R&D projects have been established and Oceano Fresco has applied to Portuguese and European funding programs to finance them.
  • Progress has been made on ongoing R&D projects in generic, pathology and cultivation projects.

By the end of March, Oceano Fresco plans to achieve:

  • Seed placement in the sea nursery and obtaining growth data.
  • Increased production cadence for the seeds.
  • Visible progress in the construction of the 22-metre vessel.
  • Receive further notices of interest from potential customers, especially from Spain.

2020-12-16

First payment

First instalment was paid to all the investors

2020-11-16

100% funded

379 investors successfully raised 150.000€

2020-10-14

New target

After raising 75.000 € in one week, the promoter decided to double the global investment amount of its campaign to 150.000 €. Simultaneously, the campaign was extended until 14/11/2020. All the other offer conditions remain the same.

2020-10-06

Open for investment

This campaign will help avoid the emission of 25 tons of CO2 per year

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