Business profile – Deep Blue Aqua
BRYNN SIMPSON
In at the Deep end B
Growing up alongside a burgeoning industry has its challenges – and rewards, says South African pioneer
rynn Simpson and his business partner Grant Brooker might have almost 40 years’ experience in aquaculture be- tween them, but in South Africa theirs is
a relatively new industry and their growth as a business depends on the success of the sector. To this end, they set up Deep Blue Aqua in 2007, and hope that they will not only fill a technology gap, but play a significant part in this burgeoning field. They had worked together for a small ab-
alone hatchery and farm, installing abalone systems ‘all over the place’ – in Chile, Mexico, Ireland and New Zealand – when they decided to embark on their own project. ‘When we started it was when the whole
world economy went into a slump so that wasn’t that amusing,’ said Brynn, talking to Fish Farmer from his base in Gordon’s Bay in the Cape. ‘It was tough.’ ‘Aquaculture is an early stage industry in
South Africa. It’s very small and it’s growing slowly; if it was a much greater industry it would probably be a lot easier for us.’ The largest part of the industry is marine
based, with several (about 12 to 15) reason- ably big abalone farms (one is even listed on the Johannesburg stock exchange), producing around 1,500 tonnes a year in total. The volumes are small but the value is high,
said Brynn, with export markets in China, Tai- wan, Malaysia and Japan. The problem is that abalone is a long-term
product, the shellfish taking four or five years to reach a size of 100 to 300 grammes. ‘You’ve got to be patient and you’ve got to
have a very big wallet,’ said Brynn, and that is a challenge in South Africa. While there has been some investment, an
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abalone farm requires around 80 million Rand and ‘not many people have that kind of money’, he said. On the plus side, aquaculture in South Africa
has shown strong growth of 6.5 per cent per annum, and there has been something of a drive within the government recently to devel- op the industry. Last summer, ministers launched an initiative,
Operation Phakisa, aimed at unlocking the po- tential of the ocean economy; one of the pillars of this was aquaculture and between the gov- ernment, private sector, education institutions and outside consultants, there was a debate on what needed to be done in the industry to promote growth. Progress since then, said Brynn, ‘is sort of
slowly kicking in. We’re only six months down the line, but the various government depart- ments are starting to do the stuff they need to do, such as provide access to government land that’s on the coast.’ And some public funding is being made available for start-ups.
Deep Blue Aqua covers most bases in the
industry. It can design, manufacture and install aquaculture and live-holding systems for both fresh and marine species, and provides consult- ing services through its involvement in feasibili- ty studies and post commissioning services. The team – which includes one other man-
ager and eight technicians, as well as Brynn and Grant – has significant experience, ranging from abalone and trout farming to installation of research and development facilities, fish and shellfish hatcheries, community based projects,
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