Hawaiʻi’s Pacific Hybreed raises $1m to expand shellfish hatchery work

Pacific Hybreed, an aquaculture biotechnology company based on Hawaiʻi’s Big Island, has closed a $1m funding round, which included backing from Hawaiʻi Angels and Blue Startups.

The company said the money would be used to expand commercial-scale hatchery operations, develop breeding programmes tailored to individual farms, and move further into species beyond Pacific oysters, including clams.

Pacific Hybreed says it is applying hybrid breeding techniques, used widely in agriculture, to shellfish production. According to the company, its approach does not involve genetic modification and is intended to produce oyster and clam seed that is more resilient and more uniform in growth.

The company claims its seed has shown about 30% higher yield and harvesting cost reductions of up to 50%, which it says is due to more consistent shellfish growth. It said this could help aquaculture producers increase production without changing their existing operations.

Shellfish farmers can lose a substantial share of their crop before harvest because of environmental pressures and variable seed performance. Pacific Hybreed says its work is aimed at addressing that risk earlier in the production cycle.

The company said it is already working with more than 20 farm customers and research sites in North America, with demand currently exceeding its production capacity.

“When we stocked Pacific Hybreed seed while we were growing oysters, we consistently found more uniform growth and very few double set oysters. Growing oysters in Hawaii can be more labor intensive than farming in cooler regions, so the performance and quality of each individual oyster seed is critical,” said Dave Anderson, Product Manager at Kauai Sea Farm.

“Closing this round allows us to move from proven field results to scaled commercial production at a critical moment for the industry,” said Pacific Hybreed CEO Melissa DellaTorre. “Hawaiʻi Angels and Blue Startups represent an incredible base of local support. It's so meaningful to build this company here at home with investors who understand both the opportunity and the impact.”