While his fund has invested in a shrimp genetics company, SyAqua, they have been less willing to invest in shrimp producers themselves. Both Rabobank and Ocean 14 Capital highlighted a central issue: farming risk is simply higher in shrimp compared to other aquaculture species. While they both invested in the Kingfish Company, they said that land-based kingfish farms, while expensive, offer higher-value products and clearer paths to market. Shrimp farms, in contrast, struggle to deliver the industrial scale and predictability that institutional investors require. According to Smits, a growing emphasis by key shrimp producers on sustainability and transparency could help shrimp replicate the trajectory of cage-free eggs, where a premium offering eventually transformed mainstream markets.