Aussie seafood innovators scoop prizes at Fish 2.0

Seven Australian seafood companies have pitched their innovations to investors at the Fish 2.0 Global Innovators Forum in Silicon Valley. The forum is a two-day event where Fish 2.0 scorers can present their solutions to a panel of investors. The top scorers are businesses that have made it through many competitive stages during the preceding year.

The forum provides participants with insights into how to take their ideas to the next level, along with access to focused investors. As issues like food security, marine pollution and climate change become more prevalent, the seafood sector is becoming the new frontier for innovation.

“We hoped to connect innovators with the investment to make their ideas a reality. We are now seeing the $390 billion seafood industry being an attractive proposition for investors keen to help not only feed the world, but do it in a socially responsible way and perhaps even save the planet from climate change along the way,” said Dr Patrick Hone, Managing Director of the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC).

Of 38 companies pitching to investors, seven were Australian, including Tom and Kath Long from TomKat Global Solutions in Townsville, who presented Coolpak — a fully recycled and recyclable alternative to polystyrene for transporting seafood, and Greg McLardie from Two Hands, who developed a digital B2B marketplace connecting fishers with chefs.

Lisa and Gregory Elliot of Australian Crayfish Hatcheries and Redclaw Aquaculture in Townsville had the winning Australian pitch for their innovative Redclaw Crayfish Hatchery. Sam Harrington, who works with the Climate Foundation, presented deepwater aquaculture solutions that could symbiotically produce seaweed and finfish and aquaculture arrays also sequestering carbon.

Suzanne Catty from Aquaculture Supplements presented supplements that reduce disease among farmed Aquatic Salmon, while Geoff Lipsett-Moore from Skadia Technologies presented technology that could reduce seabird bycatch in longline fisheries. Andy Moulynox and Jonathan Lerner from Dreamweaver pitched alternative packaging technology.

In partnership with Fish 2.0 in 2018, the FRDC held sessions for potential entrepreneurs in Australia. The aim of the sessions is to foster innovation and productivity within Australia’s fishing sector, mentor innovative Australians and gain broader opportunities for investment in the seafood space.

Fish 2.0 2019 hosted innovators from the US, Brazil, Indonesia, Israel, Netherlands, the Pacific Islands, Philippines, Russia, the United Kingdom and Australia, at Stanford University.