Investment & Project Advisory

Independent evaluation of aquaculture projects for investors, institutions and growth-stage companies.

Overview

Alan Cook is an independent aquaculture advisor specializing in biological risk, system design, and capital allocation across both conventional net pen and high-intensity production systems.

He works with investors, boards, and public institutions to evaluate aquaculture projects, with a focus on where modeled performance diverges from biological reality — and how that impacts capital deployment, ramp-up timelines, and long-term asset value.

What I do

Alan supports investment and project evaluation processes through:

  • Independent review of aquaculture production models (growth, mortality, density, feed conversion)

  • Assessment of biological and operational risks across net pen, land-based (RAS), flow-through, and hybrid systems

  • Comparative evaluation of production models, including biological limits, operational risk, and capital efficiency trade-offs

  • Evaluation of ramp-up timelines, system stability, and recovery capacity under real operating conditions

  • Translation of technical and biological risks into financial and investment implications

  • Support for due diligence, investment committees, and board-level decision making

Relevant Experience

  • Direct operating experience in conventional net pen salmon farming, including production planning, fish health, and harvest management

  • Evaluated aquaculture projects across North America, Europe, and Asia at concept, construction, and operating stages

  • Experience spanning land-based (RAS), flow-through, and emerging production systems, benchmarked against net pen performance

  • Advised on system design, density constraints, oxygen delivery, and production planning under commercial conditions

  • Developed analytical frameworks used by investors to assess biological risk, production stability, and EBITDA durability

Frameworks & Perspective

Alan’s work focuses on identifying where engineering assumptions diverge from biological reality, particularly in high-intensity systems.

His analysis is informed by comparisons to net pen farming, where biological limits and operating dynamics are well established, and is used to evaluate whether new production systems are robust — or dependent on stability that has not yet been demonstrated.

Frameworks include:

  • Density Headroom Ratio (DHR) – assessing the margin between operating density and biological constraint

  • System Stability vs Design Capacity – evaluating the difference between theoretical and sustainable output

  • Recovery Speed – understanding how systems respond to stress, feeding events, and operational disruption

  • The “EBITDA Mirage” – identifying where projected returns rely on unproven biological or operational assumptions

These frameworks are used to translate complex biological interactions into clear implications for risk, cash flow, and long-term asset value.

Speaking & Publications

Alan publishes analysis and speaks on aquaculture, with a focus on the intersection of biology, engineering, and capital markets.

His work is focused on helping financial stakeholders understand how production system design choices influence volatility, scalability, and return on invested capital.

Engagement

Available for independent advisory engagements, project review, and investment due diligence.