Private equity firm Cadman Capital Group has announced two new hires within its aquaculture portfolio.
Cadman, a privately-owned, independent entity based in Northamptonshire, England, operates Orkney Shellfish Hatchery, a multi-species shellfish hatchery focusing primarily on the cultivation of Native European oysters (Ostrea edulis); Ocean On Land Technology, a developer of state-of-the art aquaculture systems; and Caribbean Sustainable Fisheries, a spiny lobster farm in the British Virgin Islands.
Forrest Petersen joins the Orkney Shellfish Hatchery team as oyster hatchery consultant, while Cristian Cox joins Ocean On Land Technology in the specialist role of recirculation aquaculture systems designer and engineer.
In a press release, Cadman said Petersen’s appointment comes after the Orkney Shellfish Hatchery experienced significant success in growing European flat oyster spat on land in 2020.
Petersen has more than 14 years of experience in the operation and management of shellfish farms and hatcheries. In his new role, he will be responsible for scaling up the production facility as it looks to move to commercial production of European native oyster spat.
“With ambitious plans to scale up oyster production at Orkney Shellfish Hatchery, we are excited to see Forrest utilize his extensive experience to improve efficiencies and build on the outstanding work already completed by our dedicated team,” Cadman Capital Group Aquaculture Portfolio Managing Director Nik Sachlikidis said. “As always, alongside production, we remain focused on ensuring the quality standards of our produce remains extremely high, setting our oysters apart and making them ideal for restoration efforts.”
Cox is an aquaculture engineer with more than 24 years of international experience in the biotechnology, bioprocess automation, biomedical instrumentation, and industrial process automation fields. He will focus on enhancing and optimizing the Ocean On Land Technology’s existing product range, including its flagship Aquahive product, as well as the creation of new products.
“Cristian … [will] continue to refine and develop the existing technology, and to continue to innovate in this exciting and evolving space. We are thrilled to have Cristian on-board and are looking forward to him applying his vast recirculating aquaculture system experience to the next generation of our ocean-on-land technology products,” Sachlikidis said.
Alongside its successes in oyster cultivation, the Orkney Shellfish Hatchery has reported an increase in clawed lobster survival rates following a series of trials that began in October 2020.
It said larval survival rates now consistently stand at upwards of 30 percent, which is significantly higher than the estimated 0.005 percent survival rate of European clawed lobsters in the wild.
