Re-inventing seabed seafood harvesting to enable preservation of marine ecosystems

Ava Ocean’s low-impact seabed harvesting technology allows seafood such as scallops to be collected while still protecting ocean ecosystems, biodiversity and carbon sinks. The technology currently being used aboard the company’s ship to catch scallops in the Barents Sea, can be rolled out globally to replace the destructive practice of dredging.

Fisheries
www.avaocean.no

Founders

Øystein Tvedt
Bernt Rogne
Sverre Farstad
Karl Fredrik Sandvik
Bjørn Roppen
Jan Rogne

Founders

Øystein Tvedt
Bernt Rogne
Sverre Farstad
Karl Fredrik Sandvik
Bjørn Roppen
Jan Rogne

Eradicating the need for destructive seafood dredging practices with non-invasive precision seabed harvesting technology

Established in 2016, Ava Ocean is a Norway-based ocean technology fishing company that has developed a non-invasive, precision seabed harvesting method, that enables the identification, selection and sorting of bottom dwelling target species.

The company’s first ship, the Arctic Pearl, an 85-metre converted oil services vessel is the world’s first equipped with this technology.

The precision harvesting technology has been successfully applied to re-open the Arctic scallop fishery in the Barents Sea after 30 years of closure and is being adapted to other species, such as queen and king scallops, sea cucumbers, snow crab and sea urchins.

Scallops alone are a market worth $2.5 billion.

“This investment will enable Ocean 14 Capital to deliver the innovation needed to meet our climate and sustainability goals. The sustainable blue economy is now a key focus for us and this is a rallying cry for start-up and scale-up marine innovators globally to come forward and help avert the crisis in our oceans and return them to a healthy thriving state.”

Jean Castellini Minister of Finance and Economy of Monaco

“There has never been a more important time to invest in the oceans as a critical way to protect our planet and combat climate change. I am excited to back Ocean 14 Capital and their vision to make a significant positive impact in the blue economy.”

Niklas Zennström

“Builders Vision Fund is excited to be part of Ocean Capital Fund I’s first close. Builders is committed to developing the ecosystem of businesses focused on ocean health and sustainability. We believe the team at Ocean14 Capital have the drive and commitment to lead this impact-focused growth fund for oceans to meaningful market investments that can improve the health of our oceans.”

Peter Bryant Senior Program Officer, Builders Initiative

“Impact investments are an important part of Chr. Augustinus Fabrikker’s investment strategy and with the investment in Ocean 14 Capital Fund I we will total ten impact investments. Our interest in Ocean 14 Capital stems from the importance we see in ensuring sustainable business practices in the ocean to foster future prosperity for this vital part of our ecosystem alongside the unique capabilities we have identified within the team. For this reason, we are delighted to become a cornerstone investor in this exciting venture.”

Claus Gregersen Chief Executive Officer, Chr. Augustinus Fabrikker

“In line with SDG14, our key objective through the Flourishing Ocean’s initiative is to return our ocean to a healthy thriving state. To facilitate this, we are committed to ending overfishing; ending the dumping of plastic, heat and CO2 in our ocean; supporting the sustainable use of ocean resources; conserving key habitats; and facilitating world class research. This is why we are supporting a new venture where the Ocean 14 Capital Fund will invest in projects aligned to our objectives.”

Dr. Tony Worby Chief Executive Officer, Minderoo Foundation’s Flourishing Ocean