ENSENADA, BAJA CA – Pacifico Aquaculture (“Pacifico”), a leader in sustainable aquaculture and the world’s first and only producer of ocean-raised striped bass, today announced that veteran aquaculture executive Per-Roar Gjerde will be joining the company as CEO, effective June 22, 2021. Mr. Gjerde brings an extensive background in the seafood industry, most recently serving in several senior executive positions at Mowi, one of the largest seafood companies in the world and the world’s largest producer of Atlantic salmon. He joins Pacifico Aquaculture at a watershed moment for the company that just received Fair Trade certification, the first fish farm in the Americas to achieve this distinction.
Prior to joining Pacifico, Mr. Gjerde spent nearly 20 years at Mowi, most recently serving as COO of Farming Americas and Faroes, where he oversaw all aspects of salmon farming in Mowi’s Chile, Canada West, Canada East and Faroe Island regions. Mr. Gjerde also held other leadership roles at the organization including COO of Farming Global, managing director of Mowi Chile and regional director of Mowi Norway Region West.
“I am thrilled about the opportunity to join Pacifico as CEO during this exciting and dynamic moment. The brand has a stellar and proven track record of meaningful progress in sustainable aquaculture, and I am honored to help shepherd it through this next phase and build on the momentum established by current Co-CEOs Omar Alfi and Daniel Farag,” said Mr. Gjerde.
Alfi and Farag will maintain their board roles at the company and will remain actively involved with the business. “We are extremely excited to welcome Per-Roar to the team at Pacifico. He shares our vision of building a world class aquaculture business rooted in sustainable values and his deep operational experience will accelerate the continued growth of our incredible team here in Ensenada and across the US,” the Co-CEOs said.
Dustin Beck, Co-Founder of Butterfly Equity which holds a majority interest in Pacifico, added: “The appointment of Per-Roar Gjerde as CEO is a critical next step in fortifying Pacifico’s role as North America’s leading aquaculture platform. Mr. Gjerde’s remarkable expertise in all aspects of scaling fish farming businesses will help us achieve unlimited growth opportunities.”
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About Pacifico Aquaculture and Pacifico Striped Bass®
Pacifico Aquaculture is the world’s first and only producer of ocean-raised striped bass, known as Pacifico Striped Bass®. Committed to continuous improvement in aquaculture practices, Pacifico Aquaculture works in concert with some of the world’s leading thinkers to sustain people, fish and the planet. Pacifico Striped Bass® has earned a spot on the menus of numerous Michelin star restaurants across the U.S. and Mexico. Pacifico Striped Bass® is available from coast to coast via retailers and restaurants and direct-to-retail partnerships. The company is Fair Trade certified, the first fish farm in the Americas to achieve this and has been named “Supplier of the Year” from Whole Foods. 2021 saw the launch of a frozen retail program along with increased distribution to over 1,300 doors. For more information about Pacifico Aquaculture, please visit http://www.pacificoaquaculture.com
About Butterfly
Butterfly Equity (“Butterfly”) is a Los Angeles, California-based private equity firm specializing in the food sector, spanning the entire food value chain from “seed to fork” via four target verticals: agriculture & aquaculture, food & beverage products, food distribution and foodservice. Butterfly aims to generate attractive investment returns through deep industry specialization, a unique approach to sourcing transactions, and leveraging an operations-focused and technology-driven approach to value creation. For additional information about Butterfly, please visit its website at http://www.butterflyequity.com.
