Aquaculture Fund Aims to Cash In on Trend

September 8, 2019 • Dieter Holger, Wall Street Journal • Fisheries & Aquaculture

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Aquaculture is surfacing as an attractive sector for green investors.

The farming of fish, and other waterborne organic protein, such as algae, is becoming increasingly important to the world’s growing population. Aquaculture’s share of global fish consumption climbed to 50% in 2014 from 18% in 1990, and is expected to reach 57% by 2025, according to UBS.

Founded in 2013, Netherlands-based Aqua-Spark is an investment fund that invests in privately held aquaculture businesses trying to push the industry in a more eco-friendly direction. The company, which welcomes investors with a minimum investment of $100,000 and doesn’t publicly report its annual results, has stakes in 17 companies and expects some will eventually go public. By 2030, it says it expects to have up to 80 companies in its portfolio.