UK seafood entrepreneur Toby Baxendale is investing in Hawaii-based Kampachi Farms, after meeting owner Neil Sims at the 2012 Offshore Mariculture Conference.
A year on and Mr Baxendale has joined the board of directors as they prepare to expand the company in Mexico after having difficulty increasing farming operations in the US.
“The Mexican government is very supportive of the growth of a responsible aquaculture industry to expand seafood production and provide jobs,” Mr Sims told World Fishing & Aquaculture.
Mr Baxendale added: “Neil and his co founders are doing something very special; they are making a sustainable alternative to tuna, the Yellow Tail Kampachi. The scale-up potential if we get this right is to have a warm water fish being able to be produced in the same volumes as salmon.”
The new 1km² site, which is expected to produce around 8,800 tonnes within 10 years, will enable the company to sell to the North American market.
This will see Kampachi reduce its carbon footprint and costs of product distribution.
Mr Baxendale told WF&A he was “significantly impressed with the commitment to growing the fish with the minimum ocean bed footprint with our fix-point cage structures and the potential for zero fishmeal feed.”
Looking to the future, Kampachi Farms says there is also potential for a branded product to be retailed once it’s recognised by consumers. The company also has plans to expand to the Middle East.
The Offshore Mariculture Conference (OSM) is organised by Mercator Media, owner of WF&A. Next year's conference takes place from 9 to 11 April 2014 in Naples, Italy.
