The story
Founded by Hijos de Antón de Marcos in 1960, in Vigo.1
Early history
Pescanova was founded in 1960 by José Fernández López, who established the company in Vigo. From its beginnings Pescanova introduced new technology for the complete activity of fish processing, best defined by the factory ship which was not common in Spain at the time. The business model worked and allowed a continued growth making it one of the biggest firms in the fishing industry.
In 1980 Manuel Fernández de Sousa-Faro, the son of the founder, took over the presidency and, after a period of restructuring, Pescanova became a multinational empire. In 1985 it joined Madrid Stock Exchange.
Post-bankruptcy history
After poor financial performance caused by global inflation, Canadian company Cooke and American company Red Chamber was two of three companies negotiating to buy the company in February 2023.
Octopus farming
Nueva Pescanova was the first company in the world to successfully breed octopuses in captivity.
In 2023, the company's plans to build an octopus farm in Las Palmas in Gran Canaria were met with objections from scientists and animal welfare activists. Groups objecting to the plans include Compassion in World Farming and Eurogroup for Animals. In 2026, plans for the farm were dropped.
From Wikipedia’s article on Nueva Pescanova, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5