© Oceano Fresco
The two native bivalve species cultivated by the company - V. corrugata and R. decussatus - are first bred in their state-of-the-art hatchery, the Oceano Fresco Biomarine Center in Nazaré, Portugal, before continuing their growth in the world’s first open-sea clam farm, off the coast of the Algarve. The clams are protected by vertical lanterns suspended along longlines, benefiting from conditions such as mild temperatures, abundant natural food supply (microalgae), and constant water renewal.
The funding was led by Indico Capital Partners, with the participation of BlueCrow, Aqua-Spark and FdCR, a fund managed by Banco Português de Fomento.
Bernardo Carvalho, CEO at Oceano, stated in a press release: “For Oceano Fresco, having knowledgeable partners who share our values and vision is at least as important as raising money per se. With this in mind, we very gladly welcome Indico Capital Partners and Banco Português de Fomento to this adventure, just like we welcome AquaSpark’s and BlueCrow’s renewed support, as we continue on our path to become the world leaders in regenerative bivalve aquaculture.”
Stephan de Moraes, managing general partner at Indico Capital Partners, said: “We are thrilled with being part of Oceano Fresco vision of creating a new sustainable aquaculture vertical that will add to the global protein increasing demand. The demand for clams specifically far outstrips current supply and growing them sustainably and systematically makes sense at all levels.”.
Ana Carvalho, CEO of Banco Português de Fomento, added: “The Capitalisation and Resilience Fund's investment in Oceano Fresco reinforces the BPF's commitment to the blue economy by supporting an innovative start-up based in Nazaré that is positioning itself in sustainable aquaculture aimed at cultivating high-quality shellfish in Portugal. This is the Fund's first investment in the blue economy, which we believe could start a cycle of BPF support for this priority sector of the national economy.”
