Business Protection Strategies for Smaller Companies in the Aquaculture industry

In the early sixties, aquaculture was perceived as a major investment opportunity; receiving attention in financial publications and attracting the interest of large corporate groups. By the late sixties it became apparent that the technological problems in moving aquaculture from a research concept to a commercially feasible proposition were such that the industry faced a long gestation period. This situation, coupled with the 1972–73 recession when many large corporations deemphasised any high risk or long‐term pay‐out projects, caused aquaculture to lose the “glamour growth industry” image. It was no longer an easy task to attract investors and many of the significant technological advances were achieved by small entrepreneurial groups who could percieve the long‐term benefits of creating viable culture units. These groups were assisted in certain instances by public sector research operations, but with a few notable exceptions (e.g. Ralston Purina, Coca Cola, General Mills, Kraft, Unilever) it was the poorly funded small companies who formed the nucleus of the industry by the late seventies.