The site is currently operated by Seafarms, who will be partners in the new venture
The site is in the province of Zeeland, close to The Kingfish Company – the first aquaculture operation to be established by AquaFounders' managing partner, Ohad Maiman. It is currently home to a facility run by Seafarms, who will play a key role in the new venture.
“It is good to be back in Zeeland, and launch The Black Cod Company at an optimal site with strong support by the province and the local community, suppliers and stakeholders. We look forward to work with Seafarm's Adri and Dave Bout that have partnered with us in the new endeavour, and are confident that we can repeat the development of The Kingfish Company with a similarly solid business case,” said Maiman.
The site is permitted for land-based aquaculture, and includes both an existing building that the company will convert into a full cycle hatchery and initial production volume, as well as an adjacent plot of land available for additional expansion.
The company has recently been granted governmental approval to farm black cod (also known as sablefish) as a new species in The Netherlands, and has worked for the past year to secure the site, develop the business case, and confirm it has the in-house knowhow required for the full cycle hatchery process.
“Having searched across the EU, we are very pleased with the chosen site- with access to high quality clean seawater, zoning and permits for land based farming, and professional and knowledgable suppliers and farming personnel in close proximity, and can now move to funding and conversion of the site to a hatchery and initial production” said Thue Holm, managing partner at AquaFounders Capital and Founder/former CTO of Atlantic Sapphire.
“We are delighted to partner with The Black Cod Company. With our many years of experience in sustainable fish farming and the strong reputation of Seafarm, we believe that together we can build a successful and sustainable farming of Black Cod. We look forward to contributing to this development,” added Adri and Dave Bout of Seafarm.
Made world famous by Nobu’s “black cod miso” dish, black cod is primarily supplied by wild catch from western North America, and small net pen farming activity in Canada, and imported frozen or seasonally fresh to the EU, Japan, and the Gulf, priced amongst the most expensive premium fish.
“It is great that the initiators of the Black Cod Company have chosen Zeeland as their business location. Fishing and aquaculture are activities that belong to our province. After previous developments by Kingfish, this is an excellent new addition. We are happy to support that,” said Zeeland fisheries representative Jo-Annes de Bat.
