NATURAL RESOURCE SUSTAINABILITY AND PRESERVATION OF FINANCIAL CAPITAL IN AQUACULTURE  

Aquaculture is a thriving industry that presents some of the highest growth rates within the animal protein sector. This tremendous growth, now sustained over an exceptionally long period of time, has not only generated but also attracted significant financial capital to the industry. As the industry matures, its increasing predictability and its strong support of solid macro-economic trends attracts a growing source of financial capital. Outside financial and corporate investors tend to favor investments in the ancillary parts of the aquaculture value chain but not in farming. Farming is still and by and large considered the highest risk thesis within the entire value chain. While paradoxical in nature, this trend reflects the fact that great amounts of financial capital have been destroyed in farming. This destruction of capital in farming is more often than not accompanied by an underestimation of the influence of natural resource sustainability or, conversely, by an overestimation of the technological capability as means to prevent, buffer or adjust, natural resource volatility. Understanding what natural resources are required for aquaculture and the sustainability of these resources is a key factor in responsible investments. If these natural resources are not taken into account or if they are not considered as a critical component of investment, the investment itself has taken on an increased level of risk and destruction of capital may follow. The current landscape for aquaculture investments will be portrayed in this discussion and the role of natural resource sustainability will be examined from the perspective of preserving capital. The inter-dependability between natural resource use efficiency and Return on Capital Invested (ROCI) will also be discussed.