The Global Alliance focuses on identifying champions, incubating ideas with system-scale potential, leveraging private finance for public good, and garnering lessons learned and replicating success on a planetary scale. This, in turn, will help achieve the climate goals and all seventeen Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

− Ocean Harvest was founded in 2021 by Robert Kupstas who also Co-founded Pure Harvest Smart Farms, the region’s leading Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) company, focused on fruit and vegetable production.

− This strategic senior hire comes at a critical juncture for the UAE’s pioneering commercial- scale land-based salmon farming venture, as it prepares to launch its inaugural project.

Ocean Harvest today announced the addition of Jawad Jamil as a Co-founder and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to its leadership team. The appointment followed a multi-month search led by leading executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles. As the world’s climate and food security leaders look to the region’s progress and innovation leading up to COP28, this latest appointment by the GCC’s most promising technology-enabled aquaculture startup bolsters Ocean Harvest’s capabilities as it develops its inaugural commercial-scale land-based salmon farm in the UAE.

Ocean Harvest was founded in 2021 by Robert Kupstas who also Co-founded Pure
Harvest Smart Farms — the region’s leading Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA)
startup also based in the UAE focused on fruit and vegetable production. Ocean Harvest Board Member and investor Sky Kurtz is also the CEO and Co-founder of Pure Harvest. While entirely separate, both ventures share the same values and mission as they seek to deliver innovative technological solutions to ensure security of food supply and environmental sustainability across the globe.

Ocean Harvest designs, builds and operates high-tech indoor fish farms incorporating Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) technology, making possible local, continuous production of Atlantic Salmon and other salmonid species of fish. The company’s mission is to enable sustainable, local production of high-quality, safe and affordable Atlantic Salmon anywhere is aligned with the UAE’s National Strategy for Food Security, and further enhances the country’s credentials as it leads the global call for action on Food Systems at COP28. Ocean Harvest is helping solve the Gulf region’s food security challenges by integrating proven Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) technology with bespoke, advanced wastewater treatment systems to deliver a truly climate agnostic growing system for salmon. This solution will pioneer year-round production of Atlantic Salmon while contributing to water conservation and a more sustainable global food system.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Jawad Jamil said, “I am truly honored to join Ocean Harvest at this exciting time and to lead our efforts to harmonize our mission with pivotal goals set by the UAE Government’s visionary agenda. Ocean Harvest is poised to further the region’s showcase of innovative Aqua-tech solutions with profound interplay between food security, environmental sustainability, and climate action.

“Together with my Co-founders CSO Robert Kupstas and Technical Director Bruno Sardenberg, guided by our highly accomplished board and advisors, the Ocean Harvest team is excited by the immense potential RAS technology holds to enable in-land fish farming and to combat global availability, affordability and food safety challenges for fish protein.”

Sky Kurtz, Board Member and investor at Ocean Harvest, who also serves as Cofounder & CEO of regional Agri-tech leader, Pure Harvest Smart Farms, added: “Experienced, highly capable leadership is fundamental to any venture’s success. With the long-awaited selection of an ambitious CEO to lead this company, Ocean Harvest has now completed the assembly of a world- class team and advisory board with the right mix of skills, competencies, experiences, and character to realize our shared vision to democratize access to high-quality, sustainably-grown fish.”

Jawad Jamil joins as Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and will lead and drive corporate decision-making, manage overall operations, and act as the main point of communication between the Board of Directors and the management team. Jawad previously served as CEO at Medical Solutions, part of Gulf Healthcare International Group, where his time included a successful exit of the UAE business on behalf of its private equity investors. Prior to his CEO appointment, Jawad served as CFO of the Group where he delivered over 10 acquisitions with a total value of over USD $100MM, and held several other financial leadership roles in his career before that. Jawad Jamil is a graduate of the TRIUM Global Executive MBA program and is a Chartered Certified Account.

Ocean Harvest’s inaugural project is being delivered together with industry-leading technology partners. Ocean Harvest is also partnered with BESIX and Tech Group, who are major investors in the company and strategic partners. The company has secured a site and is currently focused on fulfilling its phase 1 project development plans as an early mover in the region’s fast-emerging land-based aquaculture industry. Upon successful completion of the first phase of Ocean Harvest’s inaugural facility, the business plans to expand its operations into other import-dependent markets, seeking to displace expensive, air-freighted fish supplies from overseas.

A fish farming company in the UAE aims to raise $200 million to produce Atlantic salmon locally. Ocean Harvest needs the investment to build a 100,000 square metre facility in Ras Al Khaimah. Jawad Jamil, co-founder and CEO of Ocean Harvest, said they were appealing to sovereign wealth funds across the Mena region, impact and infrastructure investors, and family offices and general investors.

Ocean Harvest raised pre-seed funding of $2.1 million, with the backing of strategic investors Besix and Tech Group and a number of angel investors.
Jamil said that the company is “not a one-track play” and holds investor appeal in a number of areas including food security, environment impact and infrastructure build.

Based in Abu Dhabi, they promote themselves as a “land-based aquaculture startup.”

Aquaculture is the cultivation of fish, shellfish and aquatic plants for consumption.
The market size was estimated at $219 billion globally in 2022 and is expected to exceed $332 billion by 2032, according to insight company Precedence Research.
The UAE imports more than 70 percent of the 220,000 tonnes of fish it consumes every year. Aquaculture is not without risk. Waste from fish feed and faeces can pollute the water and seabed around intensive fish farms. Chemicals and pesticides to control parasites and disease can also contaminate the area and impact surrounding marine life.

However, according to the UN Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO), new technology promises to eradicate many of the environmental fears associated with traditional cage and wild-capture farms.
Jamil said that the farms have a positive impact on wildlife by eliminating the use of pesticides and other treatments.

“Our technology provides for optimal conditions for fish growth through state-of-the-art filtration systems and a fully controlled environment,” he said.
The industry is a central part of the Emirates’ national food security programme, which launched in late 2018.

A report by Morgan Stanley earlier this year argued that sustainable aquaculture represents one of the four largest opportunities for ocean impact investment, “with an estimated $150 billion to $300 billion in capital expenditures needed to expand capacity in the next 10 years”.
Already, the Mena region boasts the Egyptian $450 million Ghalioun Project, which was set up in 2017 and is one of the largest fish projects in the Middle East and Africa.

In February, Arabian Agricultural Services Company signed an agreement with Neom Food and Cargill to explore how they can work together to support the sustainable expansion of Saudi aquaculture.

Ocean Harvest’s five-year plan includes the opening of the facility in Ras Al Khaimah in 2026, when the first salmon eggs from Norway, Iceland and Denmark will be added to the hatchery, before locally produced salmon is ready to be delivered in the UAE in 2027.
Jamil said his company’s goal is to locate more facilities in the UAE and branch out further across the GCC, into North Africa and out east, including Japan, China, Malaysia and South Korea. Ocean Harvest was founded in 2021 by Robert Kupstas. He also co-founded Pure Harvest, which has raised $334 million across 11 funding rounds.

“Right now we’re in the midst of a difficult time for early stage startup VC investments overall,” Kupstas said.
“We’re in a fortunate position in Ocean Harvest in that we have the Pure Harvest track record. It’s not our first rodeo.”

However, the company has ruled out a listing for now.
Jamil said: “It is too early to decide on IPOs. I wouldn’t let my investors chase pixie dust.”

By Bruce Gil, published on TheMessenger.Business

Abu Dhabi-based startup Ocean Harvest is looking to raise $180 million for a 100,000 square-meter salmon farming facility in a northeastern region of the United Arab Emirates.

The seafood startup plans to buy salmon eggs from Norway, Iceland and Denmark and begin operations at its first hatchery in the emirate of Ras Al-Khaimah by 2026, according to The Circuit. The company expects to start selling 3,500 metric tons of Atlantic salmon in its first phase and earn $35.6 million in revenue revenue by 2028. By 2030, it expects revenues to reach $43 million.

“We’re looking for strategic investors, sovereign wealth funds, impact investors [and] infrastructure investors because we need those kinds of shareholders,” the company’s new CEO, Jawad Jamil, told The Circuit on Sept. 10.

Citizens of the Gulf state love fish, and Ocean Harvest calls Atlantic salmon “the pink jewel of the sea.” The country’s annual per capita consumption is 66 pounds — almost 50% higher than the global average of 45 pounds, according to the Center for Strategic & International Studies. The UAE imports more than 70% of the 220,000 tons of fish it consumes every year, according to Arabian Gulf Business Insight.

Jamil joined Ocean Harvest last month to oversee the development of the company’s first land-based salmon farm, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Ocean Harvest will use a recirculating aquaculture system from French company Suez. Instead of deploying antibiotics and pesticides, water from the tanks will be cleaned and recirculated every 30 minutes.