Item 1. Business
Item 1. Business
Overview
Company Update
AquaBounty has historically pursued a growth strategy that included the construction of large-scale recirculating aquaculture system (“RAS”) farms for producing our genetically engineered Atlantic salmon (the “GE Atlantic salmon”). We had commenced construction of a 10,000 metric ton farm in Pioneer, Ohio (the “Ohio Farm Project”), but paused the construction in June 2023, as the cost estimate to complete the farm continued to substantially increase due to inflation and other factors. Further, these cost increases impaired our ability to pursue municipal bond financing, which was a necessary component of our funding strategy. We subsequently engaged an investment bank to pursue a range of funding and strategic alternatives, and to assist management in the prioritization of our core assets. These efforts resulted in the sale of our grow-out farm in Indiana (“Indiana Farm”) in July 2024, recurring sales throughout 2024 and 2025 of selected equipment originally intended for the Ohio Farm Project (“Ohio Equipment Assets”), and the sale of our Canadian subsidiary, including the broodstock farms owned by the Canadian subsidiary in Prince Edward Island, Canada (“Canadian Farms”), and our intellectual property for the GE Atlantic salmon, along with trademarks and patents (“Corporate IP”) in March 2025. After completion of these transactions, our primary remaining asset is our investment in the Ohio Farm Project, consisting of the remaining Ohio Equipment Assets and the land and construction in process (the “Ohio Farm Site”). We continue to work with an investment bank to identify the optimal path forward for realizing the potential of this asset, including its possible sale.
Discontinued Operations
As noted above, we sold our Indiana Farm in July 2024, our Canadian Farms in March 2025, and have been selling Ohio Equipment Assets to generate liquidity. In conjunction with the work that our investment bank has done to help us realize the value of our Ohio Farm Project, we received a non-binding Letter of Interest to purchase our Ohio subsidiary. Though this offer is currently being considered by the Company, we determined the actions in 2025 that contributed to receiving the non-binding Letter of Interest to be a triggering event for revaluing these assets and we designated the Ohio Farm Project as a discontinued operation, along with the Indiana Farm and the Canadian Farms in our consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 in this Form 10-K (see Note 4 to our consolidated financial statements for additional information).
Impairment Charges
During the second quarter of 2024, we began to market our Indiana Farm for sale. The sale was completed in July and included certain Ohio Equipment Assets that had been purchased for the Ohio Farm Project. Based on the net sale price, we recorded an impairment charge against the Indiana Farm of $22.5 million. We then conducted an impairment analysis of the remaining Ohio Equipment Assets, resulting in an impairment charge of $26.3 million. At that time, we made the decision to continue to sell certain of our Ohio Equipment Assets in order to generate cash for liquidity, and therefore we reclassified our Ohio Equipment Assets as Assets Held for Sale on our consolidated balance sheet.
We continued to sell Ohio Equipment Assets during the remainder of 2024, and based on these additional transactions, we conducted an impairment analysis at year-end on the remaining Ohio Equipment Assets that were held for sale, along with the Ohio Farm Site. As a result of this analysis, we recorded impairment charges of $18.2 million and $57.3 million against the Ohio Equipment Assets and the Ohio Farm Site, respectively.
In December of 2024, we entered into a Letter of Intent with a buyer to purchase the Canadian Farms. The transaction closed in March 2025 and included all of our Corporate IP. Based on the net sale price, we recorded impairment charges of $5.4 million and $0.2 million against the Canadian Farms and Corporate IP, respectively.
During 2025, we continued to sell Ohio Equipment Assets to generate liquidity and at December 31, 2025, we reassessed the value of the Ohio Farm Project. Based on the potential net sale value of the assets, we recorded an impairment charge of $14.4 million and reclassified the Ohio Farm Project assets as Assets Held for Sale on our consolidated balance sheet.
The table below depicts the impairment charges recorded during 2025 and 2024 by asset group totaling $14.4 million and $129.8 million, respectively.
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Corporate History
AquaBounty was incorporated in December 1991 in the State of Delaware for the purpose of conducting research and development of the commercial viability of a group of proteins commonly known as antifreeze proteins. In 1996, we obtained the exclusive licensing rights for a gene construct (transgene) used to create a breed of farm-raised Atlantic salmon that exhibits growth rates that are substantially faster than conventional salmon.
We have striven to be a leader in the field of land-based aquaculture and the use of technology for improving its productivity and sustainability, and our objective has been to ensure the availability of high-quality seafood to meet growing global consumer demand, while addressing critical production constraints in one of the most popular farmed species. Our strategy has been based on our four core competencies: our proprietary GE Atlantic salmon, our experience operating land-based farms, our vertical integration, and our expertise in biotechnology.
We do not currently operate any salmon farms, as we have sold our Indiana Farm and our Canadian Farms. We have also sold the intellectual property for our GE Atlantic salmon, included in our Corporate IP. Our primary asset is our Ohio Farm Project, which consists of the land and the construction in process for a commercial scale recirculating aquaculture production facility, for which we have received a non-binding Letter of Interest purchase offer, which is under consideration by the Company.
Aquaculture Industry
Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, shellfish, crustaceans, and aquatic plants. It involves cultivating freshwater or saltwater species under controlled conditions, as an alternative to the commercial harvesting of wild species of aquatic organisms. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (“FAO”), aquaculture was a $296 billion industry in 2022, with salmon farming accounting for $22 billion.
Market Drivers
Population Growth Drives Demand for Food Protein
According to FAO, global population is projected to reach 9.7 billion people by 2050, or roughly 20% growth over the next 24 years. In addition to the increased demand for food from the rising population, increased incomes and urbanization from a growing middle
class will drive increased demand for protein food sources. According to FAO, global fish consumption has been growing faster than all other animal protein foods.
Traditional Fisheries Cannot Meet the Demand
The increased demand for fish protein cannot be satisfied from traditional capture fisheries. FAO research indicates that 25% of all major marine fisheries are subjected to severe overfishing, while an additional 52% are fully exploited. Total production from global capture fisheries has been relatively stable since the late-1980s, with catches generally fluctuating between 86 million metric tons and
96 million metric tons per year, with 91 million metric tons recorded in 2022, the last year for which data is available from FAO. In contrast, over the same period, aquaculture fish production has grown from 14 million metric tons to a level of 94 million metric tons
in 2022 and now accounts for 51% of global fish production. Feeding the growing population and meeting the demand for fish protein will require aquaculture production to nearly double by 2050.
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Land-Based RAS Production
Closed, contained, land-based production systems using RAS technology can be used for the grow-out of fish and are less susceptible to disease-related pressures of conventional salmon farming, because this type of culture system is isolated from the environment. RAS facilities employ sophisticated water treatment technology, including the use of ozone, salt treatment and ultraviolet radiation to kill potential bacterial, fungal, or viral pathogens which might enter the system. In addition, incoming water is similarly filtered and treated prior to entering the system, and water quality is regularly measured as part of the standard procedures. The fish in RAS facilities are generally not vaccinated against typical fish diseases, and no antibiotics, pesticides, or pharmacological agents are typically required. RAS facilities employ effective biosecurity to prevent disease by reducing or eliminating the introduction of pathogens and continuously treating the water to assure optimal fish health. RAS production allows fish to be raised in optimized conditions with total control of the water coming in and going out of the system, while recirculating greater than 95% of the water used.
In addition to biosecurity measures to optimize fish health, RAS farms feature multiple layers of containment designed to prevent escapes. The multiple layers of containment provide a much-needed solution to raising fresh, healthy seafood in a manner that prevents harming native fish populations. This method of land-based fish farming has been promoted by many environmental non-governmental organizations (“NGOs”), and it does not pose a threat to wild salmon populations.
Ohio Farm Project
Current Status
We commenced construction on the Ohio Farm Site and began ordering Ohio Equipment Assets (together, the “Ohio Farm Project”) in the first quarter of 2022 and spent roughly $145 million on the project before construction was halted in June 2023, due to increases in costs from inflation and other factors. At the time of the construction stoppage, roughly 30 percent of the facility had been completed.
Source: AquaBounty
Cost to Complete
Preparing cost and timing estimates for complex RAS farms is inherently difficult and subject to change based on a number of factors, including design changes, elevated inflationary pressure on costs of materials and labor, the impact of health epidemics, construction delays, dependence on contractors, the impact of increasing interest rates on financing costs, customer requirements and unexpected complications. At the time that we halted construction on the Ohio Farm Site, our estimate for the total cost for the Ohio Farm Project, including construction, land, equipment, insurance and ancillary costs was in the range of $485 million to $495 million, substantially above our previous estimates, and significantly higher than what we could finance.
Plan for Completion
We have been working with our investment bank on strategic alternatives for the Ohio Farm Site We believe that funding of roughly $400 million would be required to complete the construction according to its original design and replace the Ohio Equipment Assets that have been sold. Given the magnitude of this figure, we are considering alternatives, including a potential sale of the Ohio Farm Project.
Human Capital Resources
As of March 27, 2026, our total headcount was 3, all of whom have corporate roles.
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