Share
150.000 €
100% funded by 494 investors
Oceano Fresco V
Algarve, PT
instalment
monthly
term
4 years
yearly interest
5.5%
risk rating
B-
The first open sea off-shore clam farm in the world.
Description
This is the promoter’s fifth campaign through Goparity, after successfully raising a total amount of € 450,000€, during 2020.
After starting the clam seeds cultivation in August, in a nursery in Nazaré, a pioneer project in Europe, Oceano Fresco has recently 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.
The amount raised in the previous campaigns has been used to order cables, chains, concrete blocks, buoys and lanterns needed to set up the farm and begin exploration.
Since then, the company has also bought a twelve-meter boat, that has been improved in Penimar, a shipyard in Peniche, and is now in the company’s harbour in Lagos. On top of this, it is building a 22-meter boat in the same shipyard.
At the moment, Oceano Fresco has one million clam seeds ready to be sent to the off-shore farm in Algarve, with the first smaller boat ready to start the work this January.
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 off-shore farm is fundamental to complete the biological 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 farm, the clams find the perfect conditions to complete the cycle, with a natural source of food and perfect environmental conditions.
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 for the clam farm of Oceano Fresco.
Impact Indicators
44,45 t
CO2 avoided per year
16,67
Hectares for biodiversity
16
jobs created
Contribution to the Sustainable
Development Goals
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.
In 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.
Download Key Investment Information Sheet
Guarantees
This project is secured with a guarantee from the holding company, Oceano Fresco, SA.
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
Entrepreneur and independent consultant for leading companies in agro-genetics, pharma, and banking.
Frederico Reis
Marketing & Sales senior executive with >15 years in FMCG, Consumer Healthcare, Electronics and food Retail across Europe.
Nuno Arantes Oliveir
Life Science executive and entrepreneur. PhD in Genetics. MIT Portugal, NOVA-SBE. 200M Fund. Research at Univ. of California.
Olivier Cottet
Plant breeding specialist. >20 years experience managing breeding programs at Syngenta.
Stan Allen
Shellfish breeding specialist. Director of Aquaculture Genetics and Breeding Technology Center at Virginia Institute of Marine Science (USA)
Josien Bakker
Francisco Belo
Rui Rodrigues
Business Model
Oceano Fresco’s revenue comes from the sale of high-quality and high-value bivalves, for which market demand far exceeds supply. The production will be primarily sold in Europe but also in other regions. 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, if adequately funded. Over the last few years, the Company’s unique value proposition has led to it being awarded approximately 7,5 million euros in seed-stage equity investments and 4,2 million euros in competitive grants. Most recently in November 2021, Oceano Fresco announced a 6.1 million euro Series B round with new shareholders AquaSpark and Semapa Next. In July 2024, the company announced a new €17 million Series B funding round with renowned investors, including existing ones, as well as Indico Capital and Banco Português do Fomento as new shareholders.
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 assembled a world-class team of international advisors, managers, scientists, breeders, and technicians and 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
2015
Fiscal country
PT
Operating In
Portugal
Industry
Aquaculture
Number of Goparity Loans
9
Women Shareholders
No
Website
http://www.oceano-fresco.pt/Updates
2021-02-28
First payment
First instalment was paid to all the investors
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.
2021-01-27
100% funded
460 investors successfully raised 150.000€
2021-01-12
New target
After raising almost 100.000 € in one week, the promoter decided to increase the global investment amount of its campaign to 150.000 €. All the other offer conditions remain the same.
2021-01-01
Open for investment
This campaign will help avoid the emission of 20 tons of CO2 per year
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