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At the Economist Impact Investing Summit, Investment funds Zoma Capital and Encourage Capital announced the launch of the first-ever sustainable seafood investment holding company, called Pescador Holdings.
Companies said that the launch of Pescador is the culmination of more than two years of investment research funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Rockefeller Foundation as part of the Vibrant Oceans Initiative.
In 2016, the venture capital firm Encourage Capital released Investing for Sustainable Global Fisheries, a set of investment plans to strategically recover the economic value that is lost due to poor fisheries management, and restore ocean ecosystems, increasing the sustainable seafood supply and providing livelihoods for poor and vulnerable people in seafood dependent economies.
The company indicated that Pescador Holdings would start with an initial USD10 million commitment from Zoma Capital.
Melissa Cheong, Chief Investment Officer of Zoma Capital, said Pescador will invest in best in class sustainable seafood businesses for the long term.
"We believe this sustainability-focused strategy will allow companies and ecosystems to meet their full financial and productivity potential by aligning the time frame of investments with the time frame of sustainably managed biological systems,” the executive highlighted.
He also pointed out that local company, government, non-profit and stakeholder partnerships are equally central to that groundbreaking systemic approach, ensuring the ongoing protection and restoration of fisheries.
As its initial commitment, Pescador Holdings has invested in Chile’s Geomar, a leading sustainable seafood company with products sold in major markets throughout the world with 20 years of experience working directly with more than 700 artisanal fishers in Chile.