Meet THE TEAM

Hiroshi Arai brings 55 year’s experience in the seafood business, specialized in marketing and international trading of various fish from North America and Canada.

He is the former Director of Kyokuyo Co., Ltd., one of the major seafood companies in the world. He was also the President of Kyokuyo USA Inc. (1988-1997), a subsidiary of Kyokuyo Co., Ltd. Kyokuyo USA owned the former Whitney-Fidalgo Seafoods, one of the major seafood processors in the US.

Hiroshi Arai is the co-founder of Big Island Abalone Corporation. As CEO, 2007-2017, he led the company to become the most efficient and innovative abalone farm in the world. He was also responsible for branding and marketing “Kona Abalone,” a renowned brand in the global market.

Through his efforts, he has established strong connections with high-end restaurants, super-markets and wholesalers in Hawaii, the US mainland, Japan and Hong Kong.

Sean Wilton, P.Eng., has been involved in many aspects of the environmental engineering, construction, and aquaculture industries for over 25 years. His engineering experience has encompassed the design of complex municipal water systems to the most advanced fish hatchery and production systems in the world.

His experience in aquaculture and environmental engineering spans from implementation of some of the first grey water recycling projects in schools and resorts to recirculating aquaculture projects around the world. Sean Wilton was previously the President of PRAqua Technologies Ltd. of British Columbia, Canada. PRAqua was formed to design and build aquaculture and water treatment facilities utilizing the best of leading edge and proven technologies.

A graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada with significant corporate experience, Sean Wilton is frequently invited to act as a company advisor, director or officer and currently has Board of Director positions on companies, including AgriMarine Holdings Ltd. He has worked for tier one clients such as the National Research Council and US Fish and Wildlife Service. He has also been retained as expert review engineer for investment firms conducting due diligence on RAS farm design proposals or farm acquisitions. Sean is now continuing this work and actively involved in contract management, and design and consulting work for his principal current client Yieldbridge Aquaculture Ltd.

〇Serial entrepreneur／Business Producer

After graduating from university, he founded and became the president of NeoCareer Corporation, a human resource service company. Then worked in business development and human resource development at Softbank Corp.

〇In 2006, he founded M-Log Inc., an automotive software development company, and became its president in 2009. He entered the automotive aftermarket industry, developing hardware such as in-vehicle cameras and vehicle diagnostic equipment. Through collaboration with major manufacturing companies as clients, he learned the survival skills of running a venture business.

〇In 2021, he founded 530 Inc. with his colleagues as his third challenge, as a start-up to protect the marine environment, and Strengths in business start-up, business strategy, fundraising, and staffing.

Harukazu “Rocky” Polito, the Director of Marketing, brings an impressive 43 years of experience in the seafood industry, specializing in international trade of wild fish across Asia, North America, and Canada. Over his career, Rocky has worked as an importer for a Japanese company for 17 years and as an exporter for a U.S.-based seafood producer for 16 years.

In 2014, he founded Rocky and Associates LLC, focusing on promoting and marketing premium Canadian and Alaskan seafood to Asia. His company also made history as the first to import Russian salmon into Canada through Japan. Since 2015, Rocky has collaborated with Cedar Aquaculture Research and Development (CARD), where he has played a pivotal role in promoting and marketing farmed black cod to Asian markets.

His extensive expertise and innovative vision have made him a key figure in the global seafood trade