Shinichi Yanagisawa, NYK Executive Officer, and Giles Cadman, Chairman and CEO Verdant Bloom - Urchinomics Group's parent company -, shaking hands after signing the agreement.
Photo: Urchinomics.
"This collaboration with NYK is a game-changer for Urchinomics." This is how Perry Bevin, CEO of Urchinomics assessed the share purchase agreement his company has just signed with NYK Line. Yesterday, July 24, Verdant Bloom Ltd. - Urchinomics Group's parent company - and the Japanese comprehensive logistics company marked the beginning of a new partnership aimed at environmental restoration and sustainability.
Just one day earlier, on July 23, Urchinomics Group and Food & Life Companies Ltd. (F&LC) had entered into a funding and business alliance, marking a significant step towards sustainable seafood procurement and marine conservation.
As Perry Bevin, CEO of Urchinomics, noted in his comments on the agreements, working with partners who share their vision and commitment to nature-based solutions is key to their success and essential to achieving their goals.
Thus, if NYK's investment underscores the commitment to marine conservation shared by both companies, joining together for a greener future, the "powerful alliance" - as they call it in the release - with F&LC will serve to build a sustainable future for Japanese domestic sea urchins and marine ecosystems.
However, this game-changer momentum after funding not only marks a milestone for Urchinomics on the business side but also from a seafood perspective. As founder, ecopreneur, and former CEO Brian Tsuyoshi Takeda explained to WeAreAquaculture commenting on the agreements, "We can now say to the world that ecologically restorative sea urchin roe is not only mainstream, but is going to be a real part of the future of seafood."
Urchinomics is a restorative aquaculture company that turns an environmental challenge such as the disappearance of kelp forests threatened by an explosion of sea urchin populations, into an economic, ecological, and social opportunity. The company addresses the problem by transforming barren sea urchin populations into sustainable, quality delicacies while restoring vital kelp beds.
Moreover, the profits from these operations are reinvested into further restoration projects, fostering a sustainable cycle that benefits the environment and local communities. This approach has earned global recognition for the company, including endorsement by the United Nations Ocean Decade for Sustainable Development.
But it's not just kelp forests that are disappearing. As these diminish, so does the number of edible urchins. The barren urchins that increasingly cover the seascape have little or none of the coveted 'uni' - sea urchin roe - inside them. Urchinomics harvests those empty urchins that are preventing kelp forests from growing and, through land-based farming technology and specialized feed, turns them into premium sea urchin roe in 6 to 12 weeks.
As a result, kelp forests - essential for marine biodiversity and carbon sequestration - are recovered, but, in addition, its system provides its customers, especially the HoReCa channel, with a continuity of product that, given the difficult situation of sea urchins in their natural habitats, cannot always be guaranteed with wild catch.
Urchinomics removes barren sea urchins from the seafloor and converts them into premium 'uni' while helping kelp forests to recover.
This is the case, for example, in Japan, a major market for Urchinomics. There, as kelp forests disappear, the number of edible sea urchins also falls, and so does the domestic wild catch. Therefore, the agreement between Food & Life Companies - which operates over 1,100 restaurants in nine countries and regions, including Japan - and Urchinomics is what both companies call a "strategic synergy."
F&LC's commitment to sustainable seafood procurement aligns perfectly with Urchinomics' mission. Their union will not only serve to address declining wild sea urchin populations and enhance Urchinomics' ability to produce premium sea urchin roe, but it will also strengthen efforts to restore kelp beds and combat climate change. All while creating a stable supply of high-quality domestic sea urchins and contributing to the conservation of blue-carbon ecosystems.
"Through collaboration with Urchinomics, I hope we will be able to establish planned manufacture and a secure stable procurement base of sea urchins, which we previously had to rely on wild catch," stated President and CEO of F&LC, Koichi Mizutome. "Also I have high hopes to cause positive effects of restoring kelp forests, through effective use of natural resources by utilizing barren urchins which has been difficult to consume as food."
"This is more than just an off-take agreement and capital investment; together, we are poised to restore marine ecosystems and establish a reliable supply of high-quality uni in a market which is starved of supply," Giles Cadman, Verdant Bloom Chairman and CEO said for his part. "This collaboration highlights the importance of our shared goal to combat coastal degradation and support sustainable seafood production."
Finally, Urchinomics' CEO, Perry Bevin, expressed his satisfaction at joining forces with a company that shares its vision of sustainability and innovation in seafood production. "This partnership will enable us to enhance our capacity to deliver high-quality sea urchins to consumers, all while making a positive environmental impact."
Kelp forests are essential for marine biodiversity and carbon sequestration but they are threatened by an explosion of sea urchin populations.
Precisely, marking a positive environmental impact aiming for a blue-carbon revolution is also what NYK line is looking for with this strategic partnership with Urchinomics. In its medium-term management plan, 'Sail Green, Drive Transformations 2026 - A Passion for Planetary Wellbeing -', announced in March of this year, the company set forth a new vision of going beyond the scope of a comprehensive global logistics enterprise to co-create value required for the future based on ESG management together with its stakeholders by advancing its core business and growing new ones.
As a leader in logistics, NYK brings to the Urchinomics partnership "invaluable expertise" that will help accelerate restoration efforts and develop new blue-carbon evaluation methods and credits. This partnership highlights the critical importance of using nature-based solutions to combat climate change and the need for collaborations with partners who share this vision.
So was explained by Shinichi Yanagisawa, CEO of NYK. "Through this investment in Urchinomics, NYK would like to vigorously pursue solutions to the social issue of rocky-shore denudation and the new challenge of creating blue-carbon credits," he said. "The NYK Group continues to seek opportunities to add value to its corporate activities."
Also commenting on the agreement Giles Cadman, Verdant Bloom Chairman and CEO said that this partnering with NYK is a significant milestone for Urchinomics. "We are grateful for NYK's confidence in our mission," he claimed. "Together, we are embarking on an important journey to restore kelp forests and combat climate change. This partnership underscores the critical importance of our work and the positive impact we can achieve together."
As mentioned at the beginning, Urchinomics CEO Perry Bevin valued the partnership saying that this collaboration with NYK is a game-changer for Urchinomics. "It validates our innovative approach to marine restoration and sustainable aquaculture," he added. "With NYK's support, we can significantly scale our efforts to restore kelp forests and make a meaningful impact on climate change."