It is easy to see why investors are biting. Seafood accounts for almost a fifth of the animal protein consumed by humans. Demand for it has rocketed as the world’s population grows and rapidly growing middle classes spend more on protein. By 2030 global fish consumption is projected to be 30% higher than it was in 2010. There is also the issue of rampant, often illegal, overfishing, which is emptying the world’s oceans. At least a third of the world’s fisheries are overexploited, up from a tenth in the 1970s. Stocks of large fish have plummeted by 90% since then.
Fish farming, which was supposed to ease some pressure on oceans, is not keeping pace with demand and has gained a bad reputation. Critics argue that its environmental virtues are over-egged, because farmed fish are often given feed derived from wild seafood. Diseases spread like wildfire through their pens, so many farmed fish are pumped with antibiotics. Seafood supplies, farmed or wild, are threatened by climate change. They are often contaminated with mercury, microplastics and toxins, points out Mr Cooperhouse.
Fish grown in a bioreactor is not exposed to diseases or pollutants. Unlike the real thing, its quality should never vary. Diners who are uneasy about industrial-scale fishing can enjoy it with a clean conscience; and since producers make only the prime cuts, there are no bones or skin to throw away. “You are solving many challenges and helping to feed the planet with cell-cultured seafood,” says Mr Cooperhouse.