Explore more ESG investments for 2021 here
Andrew Willis: It’s time again for Morningstar Sustainalytics’ “10 for 2021” – which presents investors with 10 ESG investment themes that can positively contribute to advancing United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In this series, we’ll feature a new development each week so that you can ‘create impact through thematic investing’.
Last time, we discussed a step towards sustainability in the fishing industry. This week, we’re going to look at what a leap looks like.
Similar to fish farms that are vertically integrated and ‘recycle’ the fish they catch, integrating with the wider ocean reduces wasted opportunities and mitigates the risk of climate change – and also offers a regenerative approach to ocean farming.
By commercializing mutually beneficial relationships between say, salmon and underwater plants, or shellfish, we can close resource loops and recirculate food by cultivating fish feed on the spot. Not to mention natural environments help protect against threats to fish stock like sea lice, rising sea temperatures and damaging algae blooms.
The importance of the aquaculture industry is seen in a current valuation of 230 billion U.S. dollars, which is growing at a rate of 6% yearly. It’s worth watching companies involved in the space such as Lerøy Seafood Group (LYSFF). They created a company called Ocean Forest with the Bellona Foundation, which aims to build ‘co-cultivation’ ocean farms that raise salmon alongside seaweed, kelp and mussels – all of which are harvested.
These advanced ocean farms show that investors can unlock new resources for products from food to medicine and fertilizers by helping to rebuild what’s been in front of us all along.
For Morningstar, I’m Andrew Willis.
