The World Ocean Council (WOC) is hosting a program on investing in ocean sustainable development as part of the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute’s annual forum Feb. 22 in Santa Monica.

The “Ocean Day” event will consist of dialogue between panelists dedicated to aquaculture, renewable energy and port and coastal infrastructure resiliency and adaption. A fourth session will focus on small island/Caribbean investment opportunities – including the “Caribbean Climate-Smart Zone”, which was recently launched at the Climate Summit in Paris on Dec. 12, 2017 with high level representatives from investment, industry, government and inter-governmental bodies.

Each panel will consist of CEOs from leadership companies in each of these fields, as well as investor representatives, with cross-cutting attention to islands. The current list of panelists includes representatives from the following organizations:

• Aquaculture: Cuna del Mar, Protix, Calysta, Open Blue (pending), Vitamar (pending)
• Renewable Energy: Principle Power, Resolute Marine Energy, Verdant Power, Orsted North America (pending)
• Port/Coastal Infrastructure Resiliency and Adaption: Agawa Fund Management, Baird and Associates, Lightsmith Group, American Association of Port Authorities, Port of New York/New Jersey (pending)

The event, according to Jacques Demers, chair of the WOC Ocean Investment Platform Advisory Group, is an opportunity for “key representatives and decision-makers of institutional long-term investors, such as pension and sovereign funds and insurers to meet directly with ocean industry executives and public policy makers and identify and assess the potential to make investments in appropriate risk adjusted return opportunities (including energy, food, infrastructure, new technologies, resources, decreased carbon emission transportation, etc.)…”

Ocean industries and stakeholders can register for the “Ocean Day” event at this link.

Information on the overall SWFI Institutional Investment Forum, including registration for the rest of the event, can be found at: www.iinvestorforum.com/