James Mansfield
Managing Director
Blue Impact Fund
Finance Earth and WWF have worked together since 2018 to create the Blue Impact Fund, a pioneering impact fund investing in the UK sustainable blue economy.
The Blue Impact Fund will target enterprises producing sustainable seafood and aquatic plants that can generate attractive returns while delivering ocean resilience and recovery.
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Background
The blue economy is expected to double over the next decade. However, unsustainable economic activity is driving widespread loss of marine biodiversity, degrading and destroying vital habitats and the wildlife that depend on them.
However, the technologies and expertise required to ensure the sustainable growth of the blue economy exist in the world today, with new innovative solutions constantly in development. Enterprises that directly improve the resilience of or reduce pressure on the marine environment make up only a small part of the overall blue economy. We want to change that.
Finance Earth and WWF have collaborated to research and map the most impactful, investable opportunities for the UK sustainable blue economy. Seafood and aquatic plants, and their connected supply chains, present market-ready investment opportunities that provide substantial and lasting social and environmental benefits, while also being underpinned by significant and growing market demand.
Investment opportunity
Global food fish consumption has grown faster over the last six decades than that of all terrestrial animals combined.[source: FAO] Aquaculture – the farming of seafood and aquatic plants – is the fastest-growing food production method globally, a trend that is projected to continue over the next decade.
Furthermore, innovation and development within the sector has demonstrated additional, alternative uses for aquatic plants, such as in the creation of bioplastics and as key ingredients in nutraceuticals.
Impact opportunity
| Impact |
How |
| Protect and restore marine ecosystems |
|
| Reduce carbon and ecological footprint |
|
| Improve livelihoods, health and wellbeing for communities |
|
Investment strategy
The Blue Impact Fund aims to build a diversified portfolio of investments that will create further opportunities for portfolio synergies.
The investment team has developed a high-quality pipeline across the following key themes:
- Marine aquaculture including near-shore and offshore production and on-shore Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS)
- Fisheries
- Seafood supply chain enterprises including upstream supply (for example, sustainable fish feed) and downstream processing and sales
All Blue Impact Fund investments are subject to rigorous impact assessment criteria that has been carefully designed in collaboration with WWF, ensuring that the Blue Impact Fund upholds industry best practice and enables continued, sustainable innovation and growth.
Enhancing impact through an Ocean Recovery Trust
The Blue Impact Fund has been created alongside an aligned charity, the Ocean Recovery Trust, that will work to restore ocean health by funding innovation, capacity building, and marine conservation programmes, growing the sustainable blue economy and delivering ocean restoration.
The Ocean Recovery Trust will be funded through a ‘conservation dividend’ generated by the Blue Impact Fund, alongside additional philanthropic donations.
The team
Finance Earth have developed a specialist investment team with deep understanding of the seafood and aquatic plant markets and the unique risks and opportunities within them.
Investment team
Richard Speak
Managing Director
James Fox-Davies
Investment Director
Alicia Gibson
Senior Associate
Olivia Bennett
Senior Associate
Alex Hume
Analyst
Specialist advisors
Shane Hunter
Technical Specialist
Daniel Fairweather
Aquaculture Risk Specialist
Dennis Overton
Seafood Commercial Specialist
Piers Hart
Seafood Impact Specialist
Fund operations
Craig Humphrey
Risk and Compliance Director
Grazia Sarpietro
Fund Accountant
Jonny Fletcher
Accounts Assistant
Marva Gowie
Office Manager
WWF marine and sustainable finance team
Louise Heaps
Head of Blue Economy
Toby Roxburgh
Head of Sustainable Economic Policy
Lucy Holmes
Senior Programme Manager for Seafood Finance
Lyndsey Dodds
Head of Marine Policy
Sean Clement
UK Marine Policy Officer