Another remarkable and enlightening experience at Monaco Ocean Week! Once again, the event showcased its ability to bring together a truly global community while preserving an intimate atmosphere conducive to forging meaningful connections among all participants. The palpable sense of unity and shared passion for ocean conservation within the community was truly inspiring. Here are some key insights gleaned from our time at the event:
Christian Lim got to share his views on the panel “The contribution of responsible aquaculture and the role of Blue Finance in protecting the oceans” a thought provoking panel on the future of aquaculture and blue finance, curated by Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) at the Institut océanographique, Fondation Albert Ier, Prince de Monaco. Aquaculture is being transformed rapidly by technology, with a promise to make it both more sustainable and productive. Be it through reinventing centuries old farming techniques like Agriloops - Jérémie Cognard, or driving demand for sustainable seafood through sheer commitment like Labeyrie - Estelle Brennan, the change is happening. Accelerating this momentum requires science, consumers, innovators, corporates, financiers, and regulators aligning their efforts. And this is what gatherings like that one help achieve.
Olivier Raybaud was invited by the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco and the Prince Albert 2 of Monaco Foundation to join a full day of workshops and discussions at the 15th edition of the Monaco Blue Initiative.
We got to witness our portfolio companies WSense and Optoscale shine on the different panels in the Ocean Innovators platform event:
o WSENSE - the wifi of the ocean - showcased as a solution for the large scale monitoring of Marine Protected Areas. As fellow panelist Nick Wise from OceanMind put it, with current technologies, there should not be paper MPAs anymore. Satellites take care of the surface, WSense of the subsurface at scale - yes the 30x30 scale, the 💯 % managed scale! And drones help with local and targeted interventions, including but not limited to enforcement. This is a winning combo.
As Chiara Petrolli, CEO of WSense, puts it, WSense’s reliable, low energy, cost effective underwater telecommunications network acts as a “alarm system” for the ocean, just like the ones we have at home. Already deployed in 23 areas across the globe, from the polar regions to the Red Sea, and more to come!
o OptoScale was on the big stage in Monaco, showcasing how their underwater cameras measure fish weight and health in real time, ushering a new era of Precision Aquaculture. We backed Sven Kolstø and his team because their solution, by giving farmers unprecedented data, enables them to do the right thing - limiting pollution from excess feed, reducing the use of feed from wild caught fish, keeping fish healthy - while generating tremendous productivity gains. This is a powerful combination for profound market transformation.
Sven Kolstø and his team have been too busy making clients happy to be focused showcasing their work to the broader ocean community. But this time was a much deserved opportunity under the spotlight - careful for the sunburns !
• Prisca was delighted to participate as a jury member at the Smart Yacht event, placing the decarbonization of the sector at the forefront of discussions! She noted that progress is swiftly advancing for the newbuild sector, gradually allowing scalability and market penetration for retrofitting, potentially multiplying its impact tenfold!