Item 1A. Risk Factors
The following are certain risk factors that could affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. You should carefully consider the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10‑K, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes. We cannot assure you that any of the events discussed in the risk factors below will not occur. These risks could have a material and adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition, or prospects. If that were to happen, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
This Annual Report on Form 10‑K also contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including the risks faced by us described below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10‑K. See “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” for information relating to these forward-looking statements.
Risks Relating to our Business and Future Plans
We have a history of net losses and expect to incur future losses, and there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
In the period from incorporation to December 31, 2025, we have incurred cumulative net losses of approximately $388 million, and we expect to incur additional net losses in future periods. These losses are related to our personnel, research and development, production and marketing costs. As of December 31, 2025, we had $501 thousand in cash and cash equivalents.
Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon our ability to raise additional capital, and there can be no assurance that such capital will be available in sufficient amounts, on a timely basis, on acceptable terms, or at all. This raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date hereof. The accompanying financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business and do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. If we cannot continue as a going concern, our stockholders would likely lose most or all of their investment in us.
There can be no assurance that substantial additional capital will be available on a timely basis, on acceptable terms, or at all, or that such funds, if raised, would be sufficient to enable us to continue to implement our business strategy.
We require new financing to provide liquidity for working capital and to fund our evolving strategic plan. To meet this need, we have engaged an investment bank to pursue a range of funding and strategic alternatives, including potential joint venture partnerships or other strategic transactions . There is no guarantee that additional funds will be available on a timely basis, on acceptable terms, or at all, or that such funds, if raised, would be sufficient to enable us to continue to implement our business strategy . To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interests of holders of our common stock will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect the rights of holders of our common stock. Debt financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures, or declaring dividends. If we raise additional funds through government or other third-party funding, marketing and distribution arrangements or other collaborations, or strategic alliances with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our future revenue streams on terms that may not be favorable to us.
We require approvals and permits for our Ohio Farm Project, and any delay or denial of those approvals or permits could potentially impact the value of those assets and limit our strategic options.
We may not be able to obtain the approvals and permits that will be necessary to maintain the value of the Ohio Farm Project. We will need to maintain a number of required permits in connection with the hydrology, construction and operation of our Ohio Farm Project, which is often a time-consuming process. If we are unable to maintain the required approvals and permits for our Ohio Farm Project, we will be limited in our strategic options for these assets.
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We may pursue strategic acquisitions, dispositions, mergers or joint ventures or other strategic transactions that could have an adverse impact on our business if they are unsuccessful.
If appropriate opportunities become available, we may acquire, invest in or merge with businesses, assets, technologies, or products to enhance our business in the future. In connection with any future acquisitions, investments or mergers, we could:
issue additional equity securities, which would dilute the ownership interest and voting power of our current stockholders;
incur substantial debt to fund the acquisitions; or
assume significant liabilities.
Acquisitions, investments or mergers involve numerous risks, including:
difficulti es integrating the purchased operations, technologies, or products;
unanticipated costs and other liabilities;
diversion of management’s attention from our core business;
adverse effects on existing business relationships with current and/or prospective customers and/or suppliers;
risks associated with entering markets in which we have no or limited prior experience; and
potential loss of k ey employees.
We do not have extensive experience in managing the integration process, and we may not be able to successfully integrate any businesses, assets, products, technologies, or personnel that we might acquire in the future without a significant expenditure of operating, financial, and management resources. The integration process could divert management time from focusing on operating our business, result in a decline in employee morale, or cause retention issues to arise from changes in compensation, reporting relationships, future prospects, or the direction of the business. Certain transactions may require us to record periodic impairment charges, incur amortization expenses related to certain intangible assets, and incur large and immediate write-offs and restructuring and other related expenses, all of which could harm our operating results and financial condition. In addition, we may acquire companies that have insufficient internal financial controls, which could impair our ability to integrate the acquired company and adversely impact our financial reporting. If we fail in our integration efforts with respect to any of our acquisitions and are unable to efficiently operate as a combined organization, our business and financial condition may be adversely affected.
Risks Relating to Our Business
Security breaches, cyber-attacks and other disruptions could compromise our information, or expose us to fraud or liability, which would cause our business and reputation to suffer.
In the ordinary course of our business, we use third-party, cloud-based servers and networks to store sensitive data, including our proprietary business and financial information; general business information regarding our customers, suppliers, and business partners; and personally identifiable information of employees. The security of our network and the storage and maintenance of sensitive information is critical to our business. Despite our security measures, our and our third-party providers’ information technology and infrastructure are subject and vulnerable to cyber-attacks by hackers, such as social engineering/phishing, malware (including ransomware), malfeasance by insiders, human or technological error, and as a result of bugs, misconfigurations or exploited vulnerabilities in software or hardware. A breach of our or our third parties’ security could compromise our and/or their networks, and the information stored could be accessed, manipulated, publicly disclosed, lost, or stolen. Any such access, manipulation, disclosure, or loss of information could result in errors in our records, fraudulent use of our financial information or theft of assets, legal claims or proceedings (such as class actions), regulatory investigations and enforcement actions, liability under laws that protect the privacy of personal information (including fines and penalties), theft of our intellectual property, damage to our reputation and/or significant system restoration or remediation and future compliance costs. In addition, our systems could be the subject of denial of service or other interference, which could disrupt our business. There can also be no assurance that our cybersecurity risk management program and processes, including our policies, controls or procedures, will be fully implemented, complied with or effective in protecting our systems and information.
We may be required to further write down the value of our assets at the end of a reporting period.
Any adjustments to the carrying value of our assets are reported as an impairment charge on our income statement. Such adjustments may be material in any given period and could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
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Risks Relating to the Industry and Macro Environment
Business, political, or economic disruptions or global health concerns could seriously harm our current or planned business and increase our costs and expenses.
Broad-based business or economic disruptions, political instability, or global health concerns could adversely affect our current or planned production, sale, distribution, research and development, and expansion. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic and its related adverse public health developments, including orders to shelter-in-place, travel restrictions, and mandated business closures adversely affected workforces, organizations, customers, economies, and financial markets globally, leading to an economic downturn and increased market volatility. It also disrupted the normal operations of many businesses, including ours.
Global health concerns like the COVID-19 pandemic could result in social, economic, and labor instability in the countries in which we or the third parties with whom we engage operate. Impacts related to global health events have included, and in the future may include, shortages of packaging workers and transportation suppliers, slower and more expensive harvests and increased culling activity, supply chain disruptions, facility and production suspensions, and decreased demand for other goods and services, including salmon in the institutional sales chain.
We cannot predict the scope and severity of business, political or economic disruptions or global health concerns. If we or any of the third parties with whom we engage, including suppliers, distributors, service providers, regulators, and overseas business partners, experience shutdowns or other disruptions again in the future, our ability to conduct our business in the manner and on the timelines presently planned could be materially and negatively impacted, our anticipated revenues could decrease, and our costs and expenses could continue to rise as a result of our efforts to address such disruptions.
Adverse developments affecting the financial services industry, including events or concerns involving liquidity, defaults or non-performance by financial institutions or transactional counterparties, could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Events involving limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments that affect financial institutions, transactional counterparties or other companies in the financial services industry or the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds or other similar risks, have in the past and may in the future lead to market-wide liquidity problems. Most recently, on March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank, now a division of the First Citizens Bank, was closed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) as receiver. Similarly, on March 8, 2023, Silvergate Capital Corp. announced its decision to voluntarily liquidate its assets and wind down its operations. Our access to funding sources and other credit arrangements in amounts adequate to finance or capitalize our current and projected future business operations could be significantly impaired by factors that affect us, the financial services industry or economy in general. These factors could include, among others, events such as liquidity constraints or failures, the ability to perform obligations under various types of financial, credit or liquidity agreements or arrangements, disruptions or instability in the financial services industry or financial markets, or concerns or negative expectations about the prospects for companies in the financial services industry.
In addition, investor concerns regarding the U.S. or international financial systems could result in less favorable commercial financing terms, including elevated interest rates or costs and tighter financial and operating covenants, or systemic limitations on access to credit and liquidity sources, thereby making it more difficult for us to acquire financing on acceptable terms or at all. Any decline in available funding or access to our cash and liquidity resources could, among other risks, adversely impact our ability to meet our operating expenses or financial obligations or fulfill our other obligations, result in breaches of our contractual obligations or result in violations of federal or state wage and hour laws. Any of these impacts, or any other impacts resulting from the factors described above or other related or similar factors, could have material adverse impacts on our liquidity and our business, financial condition or results of operations.
We currently have cash and cash equivalents deposited in Citizens Bank, N.A. representing 100% of our total amounts. If any of the financial institutions in which we have deposited funds ultimately fails, we may lose our uninsured deposits at such financial institutions, and/or we may be required to move our accounts to another financial institution, which could cause operational difficulties, such as delays in making payments to our partners and employees, which could have an adverse effect on our business and financial condition.
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Our ability to use net operating losses and other tax attributes to offset future taxable income may be subject to certain limitations.
In general, under Sections 382 and 383 of the U.S. Tax Code (the “Code”), a corporation that undergoes an “ownership change” is subject to limitations on its ability to utilize its pre-change net operating losses (“NOLs”), tax credits, or other tax attributes to offset future taxable income or taxes. For these purposes, an ownership change generally occurs where the aggregate stock ownership of one or more stockholders or groups of stockholders who owns at least 5% of a corporation’s stock increases its ownership by more than 50 percentage points over its lowest ownership percentage within a specified testing period. In addition to limitations imposed by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, a portion of our NOLs are subject to substantial limitations arising from previous ownership changes, and, if we undergo another ownership change, our ability to utilize NOLs could be further limited by Sections 382 and 383 of the Code. In addition, future changes in our stock ownership, many of which are outside of our control, could result in an ownership change under Sections 382 and 383 of the Code. Our NOLs may also be impaired under state law. Accordingly, we may not be able to utilize a material portion of our NOLs. Furthermore, our ability to utilize our NOLs is conditioned upon our attaining profitability and generating U.S. federal and state taxable income.
Risks Relating to our Common Stock
The price of our shares of common stock is likely to be volatile.
The share price of publicly traded emerging companies can be highly volatile and subject to wide fluctuations. The prices at which our common stock is quoted and the prices which investors may realize will be influenced by a large number of factors, some specific to our company and operations and some that may affect the quoted land-based fish farming industry, the biotechnology sector, or quoted companies generally. These factors could include variations in our operating results, publicity regarding the process of obtaining regulatory approval to commercialize our products, divergence in financial results from analysts’ expectations, changes in earnings estimates by stock market analysts, overall market or sector sentiment, legislative changes in our sector, the performance of our research and development programs, large purchases or sales of our common stock, currency fluctuations, legislative changes in the bioengineering environment, future sales of our common stock or the perception that such sales could occur and general economic conditions. Certain of these events and factors are outside of our control. Stock markets have from time to time experienced severe price and volume fluctuations, which, if recurring, could adversely affect the market prices for our common stock.
We may not be able to maintain our listing on Nasdaq, which could limit investors’ ability or willingness to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions .
Even though our common stock is traded on Nasdaq, we cannot assure you that we will be able to comply with standards necessary to maintain such listing, which may result in our common stock being delisted from Nasdaq. If our common stock were no longer listed on Nasdaq, investors would experience impaired liquidity for our common stock, not only in the number of shares that could be bought and sold at a given price, which might be depressed by the relative illiquidity, but also through delays in the timing of transactions and reduction in media coverage. For example, investors might only be able to trade on one of the over-the-counter markets. In addition, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;
a limited amount of news and analyst coverage for us; and
a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.
Nasdaq has recently proposed a rule change to (i) adopt Listing Rules 5450(a)(3) and 5550(a)(6) to require issuers listed on the Nasdaq Global and Capital Markets, respectively, to maintain a minimum Market Value of Listed Securities (“MVLS”) of at least $5 million for a period of thirty (30) consecutive business days, and (ii) amend Rule 5810 to suspend trading and immediately delist from Nasdaq securities of issuers that do not satisfy the proposed new requirements, and Rule 5815 to set forth the procedures for requesting a hearing before a Hearings Panel and the scope of the Panel’s discretion (collectively, the “Proposed $5 Million MVLS Rule”). As of March 27, 2026, the market value of our listed securities was less than $5 million. If the Proposed $5 Million MVLS Rule is adopted and becomes effective, and we are unable to satisfy the applicable continued listing requirements, we could become subject to suspension and delisting from Nasdaq.
We have also experienced periods of negative stockholders’ equity, including as set forth in our financial statements as of December 31, 2025 included at Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and any failure to maintain positive stockholders’ equity could further increase the risk that our common stock fails to meet Nasdaq’s continued listing standards, which could result in our suspension and delisting from Nasdaq.
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On January 15, 2025, we received a letter (the “2025 Notice”) from Nasdaq notifying us that, because the closing bid price for our common stock had been below $1.00 per share for the previous 30 consecutive business days, it no longer complied with the minimum bid price requirement for continued listing on Nasdaq. The 2025 Notice had no immediate effect on our listing or on the trading of our common stock. The 2025 Notice provided us with a compliance period of 180 calendar days, or until July 15, 2025, to regain compliance. We were subsequently granted an additional 180 calendar days, or until January 12, 2026, to regain compliance. On September 15, 2025 we received a notice from Nasdaq confirming that we had regained compliance with the minimum bid price requirement for continued listing on Nasdaq.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain compliance with the Nasdaq minimum bid price requirement or any other applicable Nasdaq continued listing standards. Any failure to comply with Nasdaq listing rules could lead to the delisting of our common stock from Nasdaq and our common stock trading, if at all, only on the over-the-counter markets, which would likely have less liquidity and more price volatility than experienced on Nasdaq. Stockholders may not be able to sell their shares of our common stock on any such substitute market in the quantities, at the times, or at the prices that could potentially be available on a more liquid trading market. As a result of these factors, if our common stock is delisted from Nasdaq, the value and liquidity of our common stock would likely be significantly adversely affected.
An active trading market for our common stock may not be sustained.
Although our common stock is currently listed and traded on Nasdaq, an active trading market for our common stock may not be maintained. If an active market for our common stock is not maintained, it may be difficult for stockholders to sell shares of our common stock. An inactive trading market may impair our ability to raise capital to continue to fund operations by selling shares and may impair our ability to acquire other companies or technologies by using our shares as consideration.
We are a “smaller reporting company” and a “non-accelerated filer” and we cannot be certain if applicable scaled disclosure requirements will make our shares of common stock less attractive to investors.
As a “smaller reporting company,” we elected to comply with scaled disclosure requirements relative to companies that are not smaller reporting companies, including but not limited to, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our filings with the SEC. Under current SEC rules, we will continue to qualify as a “smaller reporting company” for so long as (i) we have a public float (i.e., the aggregate market value of common equity held by non-affiliates) of less than $250 million or (ii) our annual revenue is less than $100 million during the most recently completed fiscal year and the aggregate market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates is less than $700 million. In addition, under current SEC rules, we are not an “accelerated filer” and, therefore, are not required to include an auditor attestation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
We cannot predict if investors will find our shares of common stock to be less attractive because we rely and may in the future continue to rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our shares of common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our shares of common stock, and our share price may be more volatile.
We may issue preferred stock with terms that could dilute the voting power or reduce the value of our common stock.
While we have no specific plan to issue preferred stock, our certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue, without the approval of our stockholders, one or more series of preferred stock having such designation, relative powers, preferences (including preferences over our common stock respecting dividends and distributions), voting rights, terms of conversion or redemption, and other relative, participating, optional, or other special rights, if any, of the shares of each such series of preferred stock and any qualifications, limitations, or restrictions thereof, as our Board of Directors may determine. The terms of one or more classes or series of preferred stock could dilute the voting power or reduce the value of our common stock. For example, the repurchase or redemption rights or liquidation preferences we could assign to holders of preferred stock could affect the residual value of the common stock.
Provisions in our corporate documents and Delaware law could have the effect of delaying, deferring, or preventing a change in control of us, even if that change may be considered beneficial by some of our stockholders.
The existence of some provisions of our certificate of incorporation or our bylaws or Delaware law could have the effect of delaying, deferring, or preventing a change in control of us that a stockholder may consider favorable. These provisions include:
establishing advance notice requirements for nominations of candidates for election to our Board of Directors or for proposing matters that can be acted on by stockholders at stockholder meetings; and
authorizing the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock, which could be issued by our Board of Directors to issue securities with voting rights and thwart a takeover attempt.
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As a Delaware corporation, we are also subject to provisions of Delaware law, including Section 203 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware. Section 203 prevents some stockholders holding more than 15% of our voting stock from engaging in certain business combinations unless the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder was approved in advance by our Board of Directors, results in the stockholder holding more than 85% of our voting stock (subject to certain restrictions), or is approved at an annual or special meeting of stockholders by the holders of at least 66 2/3% of our voting stock not held by the stockholder engaging in the transaction. Any provision of our certificate of incorporation or our bylaws or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock and affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.
We do not anticipate paying cash dividends in the foreseeable future, and, accordingly, stockholders must rely on stock appreciation for any return on their investment.
We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our common stock. We do not anticipate paying cash dividends in the foreseeable future and intend to retain all of our future earnings, if any, to finance the operations, development, and growth of our business. There can be no assurance that we will have sufficient surplus under Delaware law to be able to pay any dividends at any time in the future. As a result, absent payment of dividends, only appreciation of the price of our common stock, which may never occur, will provide a return to stockholders. You may also have to sell some or all of your shares of our common stock in order to generate cash flow from your investment in us.
The composition of our Board may change from time to time under our governing documents, including through the filling of vacancies, which may result in a change in the Company’s strategic plan.
On October 28, 2025, we entered into Note Purchase Agreements with certain investors providing for the issuance and sale of senior notes (“Agreements”) in an aggregate principal amount of $4.0 million in a private placement transaction. The Agreements required certain resignations from and appointments to the Board. Per the Agreements, all four of our then current directors were required to submit resignations from our Board, with two of the resignations becoming effective at the time of the transaction closing date and two becoming effective upon the satisfaction of certain events and criteria. The latter two resignations have not yet become effective. Two new directors were appointed to the Board at the time of the transaction closing date pursuant to the arrangement with the investors, in accordance with the Agreements. When the remaining two resignations become effective, two additional new directors will be appointed to the Board to fill their vacancies.
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