Aquabounty's Mutual Fund Investors: Who's Taking The Plunge?

AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. (AQB) is a biotechnology and aquaculture company that engages in the provision of land-based aquaculture services. The company focuses on a salmon product, a bioengineered Atlantic salmon that can grow to market size faster than conventional farmed Atlantic salmon. AquaBounty combines sustainable and innovative farming practices with advanced genetics to efficiently increase the world's seafood population. As a publicly held company, AquaBounty has seen financial ups and downs, and its stock price and investment prospects are of interest to investors.

AquaBounty's innovative land-based farms

AquaBounty's land-based farms are located in the U.S. and Canada, close to key markets. This reduces the carbon footprint of transporting salmon to market, which is often high for traditional farming methods that import fish by air from overseas. The farms are carefully monitored to create a safe and sustainable environment for the fish, utilising Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) to protect against interactions with the external environment. This eliminates any impact on wild populations, allowing them to thrive.

AquaBounty's genetically engineered salmon were modified once, 30 years ago, to enhance their protection during their early, most vulnerable stages of growth. The company's focus on land-based aquaculture also allows for a more consistent and scalable source of salmon, addressing the global food crisis. The salmon are raised in a disease-free and antibiotic-free environment, ensuring a nutritious product for consumers.

AquaBounty's land-based farms employ multiple layers of physical, geographic, and biological containment to prevent salmon escape. The salmon raised in their production farms are all female and sterile, unable to breed among themselves or with other salmon populations. This further reduces any potential impact on wild salmon populations and species diversity.

The company's innovative land-based farming technology and advanced genetics contribute to its mission of growing the world's seafood population more efficiently and sustainably. AquaBounty believes in environmentally responsible, science-based fish farming, aiming to positively impact human health, climate change, natural resource conservation, and the protection of marine ecosystems.

Genetic engineering and sustainability

AquaBounty Technologies Inc. is a company that uses genetic engineering to farm salmon on land. This method of fish farming, known as aquaculture, has sparked controversy over sustainability and genetic engineering. However, AquaBounty argues that their methods are sustainable and environmentally responsible. They believe that their science-based fish farming can positively impact climate change and conserve natural resources.

AquaBounty's methods also have a positive impact on wild salmon populations. By farming salmon on land and implementing strict bio-security measures, the company helps protect wild salmon populations and native fisheries that are important to Indigenous communities. Their land-based farms also have a lower carbon footprint and reduced transportation requirements compared to imported Atlantic salmon.

However, critics argue that regulators did not require AquaBounty to conduct enough research on the potential health consequences of consuming genetically modified salmon. There are concerns that these fish might harm wild fisheries if they were to escape from the land-based facilities. Opponents of GMO salmon, including Indigenous fishers in Alaska, have called for a boycott of AquaBounty's salmon.

Despite the pushback, AquaBounty continues to expand its operations. The company has broken ground on a full-scale production facility in Pioneer, Ohio, with the capacity to produce 10,000 metric tons of fish annually. AquaBounty's use of genetic engineering and land-based farming methods allows them to meet the increasing global demand for seafood while promoting sustainability and efficiency.

AquaBounty's financial results

AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. (AQB) is a land-based aquaculture company that uses technology to enhance productivity and sustainability in the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, shellfish, crustaceans, and aquatic plants. The company has made several announcements regarding its financial results in recent years.

First Quarter 2023 Financial Results

In the first quarter of 2023, AquaBounty Technologies generated $398,000 in product revenue, a 59% decrease compared to the first quarter of 2022. The net loss for the quarter was $6.5 million, up from $5.1 million in the same quarter of the previous year. The company attributed these results to planned repairs at its Indiana farm, which led to scheduled downtime and impacted revenue.

Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Financial Results

In the fourth quarter of 2023, AquaBounty generated $553,000 in product revenue, a 23% increase year-over-year. However, for the full year ended December 31, 2023, product revenue totalled $2.47 million, a 21% decrease compared to 2022. The net loss for the fourth quarter was $8.42 million, up from $6.07 million in the same quarter of 2022. For the full year 2023, the net loss increased to $27.56 million, compared to $22.16 million in 2022.

Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results

AquaBounty Technologies announced its second-quarter 2024 financial results, but specific details on revenue and losses were not readily available. However, it was mentioned that David F. Melbourne Jr. was promoted to Chief Executive Officer, with Sylvia Wulf continuing as the Non-Executive Board Chair.

AquaBounty Technologies faces financial and operational challenges, including increased construction costs for its Pioneer, Ohio farm site, which led to a pause in construction activities. The company is exploring financing alternatives to strengthen its balance sheet and increase cash flow.

AquaBounty's fundraising efforts

AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. is a land-based aquaculture company that uses technology to enhance productivity and sustainability. The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Harvard, Massachusetts.

In February 2024, AquaBounty provided an update on its fundraising efforts, announcing that it had been exploring a wide range of financing alternatives to strengthen its balance sheet and increase its cash position. As a first step, the company decided to sell its Indiana farm operation, which had been successfully growing and selling the company's GE Atlantic salmon since 2019. The proceeds from this sale are expected to provide needed liquidity to AquaBounty's balance sheet and allow the company to resume and complete construction on its Ohio farm site.

AquaBounty also announced that it had engaged Berenson & Company as its investment bank to advise on the sale process for the Indiana farm and to provide guidance on additional financing alternatives. The company's CEO, Sylvia Wulf, expressed her gratitude to the Indiana team and affirmed the company's commitment to securing funding for its near and long-term growth strategy.

AquaBounty is a pioneer in aquaculture, leveraging innovative land-based farming technology and advanced genetics to increase the world's seafood population efficiently and sustainably. The company focuses on salmon products, specifically bioengineered Atlantic salmon, and aims to positively impact human health, climate change, natural resource conservation, and marine ecosystem protection.

AquAdvantage salmon

AquaBounty Technologies Inc. is a land-based aquaculture company that uses technology to enhance productivity and sustainability in the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, shellfish, crustaceans, and aquatic plants. The company focuses on a salmon product, the AquAdvantage Salmon, which is a bioengineered Atlantic salmon that can grow to market size faster than conventional farmed Atlantic salmon.

The AquAdvantage Salmon has been genetically engineered to reach a growth marker important to the aquaculture industry more rapidly than its non-genetically engineered (GE) farm-raised Atlantic salmon counterpart. It achieves this by containing a recombinant DNA (rDNA) construct composed of the growth hormone gene from Chinook salmon, controlled by a promoter sequence from another type of fish called an ocean pout. This modification allows the salmon to grow faster.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined that the AquAdvantage Salmon is safe for human consumption and meets statutory requirements for safety and effectiveness under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). The FDA's review of the application included an open public meeting, public comments, and the release of draft environmental documents for public review. The FDA compared key hormones and nutritional profiles between AquAdvantage Salmon and non-GE farm-raised Atlantic salmon, finding no biologically relevant differences.

To prevent the possibility of escape into the wild, AquAdvantage Salmon are subject to stringent conditions and can only be grown at specific land-based facilities. The approval allows for breeding stock to be kept in Canada and for market-bound fish to be grown in Indiana using eggs from the Canadian facility. Both facilities have multiple and redundant physical barriers, such as metal screens, stand pipes, incubator trays, tank covers, nets, jump fences, and screened overflow tanks, to prevent the escape of eggs and fish.

The FDA has inspected the Canadian and Indiana facilities and is confident in the procedures in place to monitor physical containment. The Canadian government also conducts regular inspections of the Canadian facility. The approval of AquAdvantage Salmon is based on the extremely low likelihood of escape and the physical and biological containment measures specified in the application, ensuring no significant impact on the environment.

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