East Coast Innovation raises C$550K seed to scale salmon-loading tech
What's the deal? East Coast InnovationDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised more than C$550,000 in its first institutional round, an open seed financing led by the New Brunswick Innovation FoundationDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The St. Andrews, New Brunswick startup builds fish-loading technology for the global salmon farming industry.
The round: The New Brunswick Innovation Foundation committed C$350,000 as lead investor, and TLT East VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → is investing C$200,000, Managing Director Michael Brown told Entrevestor. Existing investors have also committed to the round, which has not yet closed.
What's the endgame? Founded in 2020, the company has spent more than six years developing its patent-pending SmoothMove system, which loads salmon at lower densities and a steadier rate to keep fish calm during transfers. The capital will fund commercialisation, business development, and operational growth as it targets international aquaculture markets.
Why now? East Coast Innovation signed its first commercial agreement in 2026. Its SmoothMove 400 has run continuously since 28 January 2026 aboard the Norwegian harvest vessel Tauranga, operated by NapierDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → AS for salmon producer MowiDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, loading more than 4 million kilograms of salmon in a single month without downtime.
"This investment marks an important milestone for East Coast Innovation," said chief executive officer Joel Halse. Napier chief operating officer Kåre Andreas Cederström said his company saw calmer fish in testing: "Fish are calm throughout the process, making loading operations efficient."
The signal: The global salmon farming industry is worth about US$21.4 billion, according to the company, and investors frame the deal as evidence of Atlantic Canada's edge in aquaculture. The technology "addresses one of the costliest operational bottlenecks facing the global aquaculture industry," Brown said, pointing to the region's marine environment and industry density as conditions for building "global category leaders."
Read more: Entrevestor
