Fisheries and aquaculture

Step 1 — Frame the idea · milestone E0

Establish whether a fish-farming or fisheries idea deserves further study, given the water resource, the environment, access to fingerlings or to the wild stock, and the reachable market.

What the mission covers

• Framing interview with the promoter: intent, resources already committed, horizon
• Outline characterisation of the water body or site: flow, depth, apparent quality, land and public-domain status
• Matching the intended species against the requirements of the environment and the availability of fingerlings and feed
• Identification of blocking dependencies: energy, cold chain, road access, operating permit

Deliverables

• XP-NOVA intent note (1 page)
• Fisheries opportunity sheet
• List of apparent dependencies and checks to run

Condition of delivery. A site visit or, failing that, GPS coordinates and dated photographs of the water body. Without a location the assessment stays theoretical, and must be announced as such.

Step 2 — Analyse the problem · milestone E0

Characterise the water resource and its environment, and pin down the problem the project claims to solve, separating what is measured from what is merely stated.

What the mission covers

• Water quality measurements over a cycle: dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, turbidity, nutrients
• Flow or level readings, seeking out both low water and flood
• Survey of producers and fishers in the basin: practices, yields, losses
• Identification of pressures on the environment: competing abstraction, upstream pollution, conflicting uses

Deliverables

• Aquatic environment characterisation report
• Dated, geolocated set of measurements
• Note on identified conflicting uses and pressures

Condition of delivery. A single reading does not characterise an environment. The report states explicitly the period covered and what it does not allow one to conclude.

Step 3 — Study the market · milestone E1

Establish that the fish produced or landed will find a buyer — at what price, in what form and through which channel.

What the mission covers

• Price readings by species, size grade and season on the target markets
• Mapping of channels: fish trading, urban markets, catering, retail chains, export
• Analysis of competition, imported frozen fish included
• Estimate of reachable demand and of the volumes absorbable per period

Deliverables

• Fisheries market study report
• Price grid by species, size grade and season
• Positioning note and reachable volumes

Condition of delivery. Prices are collected in the field, dated and located. A price quoted without a place and a date does not enter the study.

Step 4 — Design the offering · milestone E1

Settle what the project sells: species, size grades, presentation, seasonality and target customers.

What the mission covers

• Choice of species and output size grades, matched to the market and to the environment
• Definition of the presentation: live, whole fresh, gutted, smoked, frozen
• Production and market-entry calendar, anchored on the farming or fishing cycles
• Definition of the quality level sought and of the corresponding sanitary requirements

Deliverables

• Fisheries offering definition file
• Product sheets by species and presentation
• Market-entry calendar

Condition of delivery. The chosen presentation commits both the cold chain and the process: it is settled before step 5, never after.

Step 5 — Design the production tool · milestone E2

Define the production tool: rearing structures, water supply, oxygenation, stock feeding, effluents and cold chain.

What the mission covers

• Siting and layout, anchored on the flow and water quality actually measured
• Design of the structures: ponds, tanks or cages; supply, draining, recirculation
• Sizing of oxygenation, pumping and the associated energy
• Stock feeding plan and feed storage
• Effluent management and biosecurity circuit
• Capacity plan: densities, cycles, tonnage per period
• Cold chain, from water to the first point of sale

Deliverables

• Technical specification of the aquaculture unit
• Layout and structure drawings
• Equipment bill of materials: pumping, oxygenation, cold
• Aquaculture SOPs and biosecurity protocol
• Capacity plan and investment budget (CAPEX)

Condition of delivery. Sizing starts from the low-water flow and the water quality measured on site, never from the flow announced. Without a dated water analysis the specification is not validated.

Step 6 — Model the finances · milestone E3

Cost the project and test its profitability: investment, operations, cash flow and sensitivity.

What the mission covers

• CAPEX built from the step 5 bill of materials
• OPEX built up: fingerlings, feed, energy, labour, cold, maintenance
• Production and sales model over the chosen horizon, cycle by cycle
• Profit and loss, cash-flow plan, IRR and payback
• Sensitivity scenarios: selling price, feed conversion ratio, mortality, feed price

Deliverables

• Costed financial model (workbook with live formulas)
• Assumptions note, each assumption sourced or declared an estimate
• CAPEX, OPEX, cash-flow and scenario tables

Condition of delivery. Every assumption carries its source or the word « estimate ». A model whose assumptions cannot be traced is not delivered.

Step 7 — Build the business plan · milestone E3

Assemble a file that stands up before a lender: the market, the tool, the figures, the team and the risks.

What the mission covers

• Drafting the file: market, offering, production tool, organisation, finances
• Risk analysis and mitigation plan, specific to the aquatic environment
• Presentation of the team and of the skills mobilised
• Formatting to the expectations of the target lending window

Deliverables

• Complete fisheries business plan
• Executive summary
• Technical and financial annexes

Condition of delivery. The business plan carries over the figures of the step 6 model without retouching them. Any gap between the two documents is an error, never a presentational judgement call.

Step 8 — Close the financing · milestone E3

Carry the file through to disbursement: choice of lending windows, filing, appraisal, negotiation and deeds.

What the mission covers

• Selection of lending windows and adaptation of the file to each
• Filing, follow-up of the appraisal and answers to the credit committee
• Negotiation of terms and security
• Legal review of the deeds and support to signature

Deliverables

• Filed applications and appraisal log
• Comparison note of the financing offers
• Legal review of deeds and conditions precedent

Condition of delivery. XP-NOVA is not a financial agent: it prepares, defends and documents; it does not bind the promoter and takes no commission from any lender.

Step 9 — Build and accept · milestone E4

Have the aquaculture structures and their equipment built and accepted, through to fitness to receive the first stocking.

What the mission covers

• Contractor consultation and bid analysis
• Execution follow-up: earthworks, structures, water supply, networks, energy
• Acceptance of pumping, oxygenation and cold equipment, load testing
• Trial filling and check of the structures before stocking
• Clearing of reservations and assembly of the as-built file

Deliverables

• Tender file and bid analysis report
• Site reports and acceptance minutes
• As-built file
• Certificate of fitness for stocking

Condition of delivery. Trial filling comes before any stocking. A structure accepted without a water trial carries no certificate of fitness.

Step 10 — Operate · milestone E5

Bring the operation up to regime: operating procedures, husbandry monitoring and steering by indicators.

What the mission covers

• Drafting the procedures: stocking, feeding, grading, prophylaxis, harvest draining
• Water quality monitoring protocol and alert thresholds
• Dashboard: growth, feed conversion ratio, mortality, biomass
• Team training and support through the first complete cycle

Deliverables

• Set of aquaculture SOPs
• Water quality monitoring protocol and farming register
• Operating dashboard
• First-cycle support report

Condition of delivery. Support covers a complete rearing cycle, from stocking to draining. A shorter engagement does not allow the procedures to be validated.

Step 11 — Prepare market entry · milestone E6

Prepare market entry: channels, prices, fresh-produce logistics and sales argument.

What the mission covers

• Choice of channels and sizing of the fresh-produce logistics
• Pricing policy by species, size grade and season
• Building the sales argument and materials
• Prospecting plan for fish traders, caterers and distributors

Deliverables

• Fisheries market-entry plan
• Price grid and terms of sale
• Sales materials and argument

Condition of delivery. The logistics plan accounts for the shelf life of the fresh product: a channel whose lead time exceeds that shelf life is not retained.

Step 12 — Sell · milestone E6

Turn the plan into first orders: prospecting, negotiation and contracting.

What the mission covers

• Prospecting the identified customers and securing meetings
• Negotiation of volumes, prices and delivery terms
• Drafting and legal securing of framework contracts
• Setting up order tracking

Deliverables

• Portfolio of qualified prospects
• Signed framework contracts or written commitments
• Order tracking tool

Condition of delivery. A verbal commitment is not an order. Only written commitments enter the portfolio.

Step 13 — Collect and hold · milestone E6

Get the money in: delivery execution, invoicing, collection and margin steering.

What the mission covers

• Follow-up of delivery execution and batch conformity
• Invoicing and collection follow-up
• Analysis of the gap between planned and realised margin
• Adjustment of pricing policy and channels

Deliverables

• Sales and collection dashboard
• Margin variance analysis
• Commercial adjustment note

Condition of delivery. Margin is measured after collection, never at invoicing. A sale that has not been collected is not a sale.