LocalCoho, a coho salmon recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) operation in the U.S. state of New York, has secured USD 4.6 million (EUR 3.9 million) in its Series A round of investment.
The funds will be used to push the completion and operations of LocalCoho’s first 43,000-square-foot RAS facility in Auburn, New York, where the company, also known as Finger Lakes Fish, aims to harvest 350 tons annually at full capacity.
The company hatched its first set of eggs in late 2018 and is expected to reach full production capacity of 10,000 fish per month in early 2021. The company aims to produce fish bound for premium markets, hatching its product from certified-organic eggs and raising the fish to full maturity and sushi-grade quality.
Notable participating investors and board directors include Jim Murphy, president of Grow Forward, a firm with a specialty in indoor agriculture; Bob Tobin, former CEO of Ahold USA; and Steve Koch, formerly with Credit Suisse, where he ran and chaired the global mergers and acquisitions business.
Devonian Capital, a London, U.K.-based investment company dedicated to land-based aquaculture, also participated and is a key advisor to LocalCoho.
“LocalCoho raises delicious, clean, fresh coho. It is locally relevant yet globally appealing. We are excited to help LocalCoho expand,” Murphy said in a press release.
As the name suggests, LocalCoho aims to focus on customers living within a 300-mile radius of its facility. Earlier this year, Finger Lakes Fish General Manager Phil Gibson told SeafoodSource that as many as 12 regional locations for the company is a possibility down the road, although he declined to elaborate on expansion plans.
In April, the company named Phil Gibson, the operations general manager and the former seafood director at Safeway, as its new CEO.
Last year, Finger Lakes Fish became the world’s first RAS coho salmon farm to be awarded Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification, and became one of the first aquaculture production facilities to receive certification from the Safe Quality Food (SQF) Program in January. Sustainability certifications and safety benchmarks are key for the company in marketing a farm-raised Pacific salmon to landlocked consumers in New York.
“Misinformation or out-of-date information has negatively colored consumers’ perception of farmed fish. Until that stops, the reputation of aquaculture will continue to suffer,” Gibson said in a recent Q&A on the company’s website. “As a consumer myself, my biggest pain point is what I consider adulteration of product, like excessive soaking in tri-polyphosphates or other preservatives to increase mass and falsely retain moisture. That creates an opportunity for poor eating experiences and turns consumers off to any seafood, farmed or wild. Definitely check the label when purchasing seafood. The only ingredient should be fish.”
Photo courtesy of LocalCoho
