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Through our partnership with environmental consultancy, BrightTide, we were delighted to be a founding partner of BrightTide’s Regenerative Agriculture Accelerator Programme which closed with the publication of their Impact Report published in October, just prior to the start of the UN Biodiversity conference - COP16.
The programme brought together 20 global ventures committed to transforming sustainable agriculture and aquaculture practices to develop innovative solutions that address climate change, biodiversity loss and food security. As a founding partner, Kennedys played a key role and helped the ventures navigate risk management and insurance challenges while providing technical and advisory legal support to the cohort.
In addition to improving nature restoration, the programme fostered an environment of diversity, inclusion and global collaboration – 50% of the ventures were led by women. In line with this year’s Dive In festival theme of “A sustainable future: the next 10 years”, our Senior Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Manager, Marianne Blattès, spoke to Megan Sorby, CEO of Pine Island Red Fish, one of the ventures participating in the programme.
Could you tell me a little bit about yourself and how does one get into fish farming?
That's a great question.
I wanted to be a marine biologist my whole life. Even parents of friends from 2nd grade will tell you, “she just ran around saying she was going to be a marine biologist and wanted to work with animals”.
Often you hear about marine biologists that study marine mammals which are highly migratory. The scope of work around them is vast, but you don't really get to interact with that animal on a regular basis. With fish farming, you learn their whole life cycle from who their parents were, all the way through to the harvest point and end result, when you feed people.
So for me it was a marriage of my ambition to be a marine biologist and farming, an area of great interest to me.
Did you have anybody in your family in that area or not at all?
Everybody in my family were either lawyers or studied political science but I just could not see myself sitting at a desk!
Is fish farming a male-dominated industry?
I think it's still very heavily swayed by male leadership. But the presence of women in the sector has been growing. I think the value of women being more represented in the sector is starting to be acknowledged and that's why we are seeing some shift in who is sitting in those leadership seats.
So how did you navigate that space? Were there supportive leaders that helped you?
I definitely had both male and female mentors. But the most important factor in our sector is the acknowledgment and support of our hard work, no matter who you are. I have a very strong work ethic and drive. I've always been very enthusiastic about learning things outside the scope of my job description which was recognised and appreciated.
Some of the brightest minds that I've had the pleasure of working with have been women, laser focused in particular subject matters, whether that is fish health and husbandry practices or broodstock management and planning. They may not be leading huge departments but because of their expertise and work ethic, people give them the respect that they deserve.
Have you faced any challenges as a female entrepreneur?
Definitely. I have had the unique opportunity of working in the same company as my spouse. There was one instance that we both remember very vividly where we were sitting in a management meeting in separate departments. The company was facing a very technical challenge affecting all departments. I suggested what I thought the issue might be and it was passed aside. My husband, Tom, came in and repeated the issue I had identified but in a different way and the immediate reaction was “that's a great idea!”.
Irrespective of the sector you're working in, women are still fighting for our positioning and making sure that we are heard and communicating effectively. As we start to become more inclusive in our different sectors, our communication style may start to shift to a more middle of the road type of communication. It’s about knowing who you're speaking with and adapting that communication style.
Another big challenge faced for aquaculture in general is attracting new types of capital. We have seen many of the same companies leading the way in blue food investment for quite some time and we certainly need to broaden that horizon. This is what is most exciting about participating in Bright Tide’s accelerator program. It is bringing together and highlighting the similarities and synergies between regenerative agriculture as well as regenerative aquaculture, and with that comes the introduction of our kind of farming and positive impact to our food systems and environment to a whole new group of people that support exactly that - sustainable food production.
Female entrepreneurs often struggle to get the necessary investment or capital at the start. Is that something you had an issue with?
I think I could rattle off a bunch of very low statistics to you about venture capital allocated to women. Obtaining the necessary investment and/or capital is a struggle but I think the tide is shifting.
I'm very fortunate that our founding members and seed round investment team have reflected what I've seen in the industry which is that it's the person that they're investing in and not always just the project. They have to like what you're doing and see the vision in it. But they're investing in you and I think that's where again, work ethic, drive and delivering on what you say lends more weight than perhaps your gender.
What's a message that you would like to share with young female entrepreneurs who might be hesitating to take the leap?
Just do it.
I heard somebody say the other day “You have to hold your nose and just jump”, which is a really beautiful visualization of what entrepreneurship is.
Also, feel empowered in the role that you're in and appreciate what that means in the greater trajectory. What I see from my younger counterparts is that there is this rush to jump in and own their own project. I love the drive but I just would like to say that you can be empowered in the roles that you're in, in the ladder that you're climbing. Look at it from ‘where does this get me towards being the most effective entrepreneur that I can be’? Subconsciously, throughout the course of my career thus far, I have tried to find areas where I'm weak and strengthen those by taking jobs that are a little bit outside of my comfort zone.
Knowing that I had spent all my time farming, but never learnt the processing and sales side, I took a job doing just that and this has made me a more well-rounded individual. The more skills you have, the more diversified you can be. Particularly, for those that choose entrepreneurship, you will find diversity of skills more valuable than just understanding one piece of the process.
Having recently concluded the Dive In festival, is there anything else or a message that you would like to share more generally to all women?
I would like to say thank you to all the women that I have encountered along the way, whether it be directly involved in the farming process or within the seafood or seafood related sectors who have pushed me to continue to do what I'm doing. And whether they are leaders or whether they are leading from a position that is not as visible, it all matters, so thank you.