Newsflash: What Is The Potential Of Seaweed Farming Regarding Ocean Restoration And Climate change?

What Is The Potential Of Seaweed Farming Regarding Ocean Restoration And Climate change?

What if there was a way to grow restorative species that make oceans cleaner, healthier and more habitable, but also help in reducing carbon emissions? Well, Bren Smith, director of Thimble Island Oyster Co., believes that his ‘3D ocean farms’ provide this solution that utilises the entire water column.

According to Mr. Smith, “A 3D ocean farm is designed to restore rather than deplete our oceans. We use our new farming methods to meet the growing need for sustainable seafood, while restoring ecosystems, mitigating climate change and building a new blue-green economy”. But why is using seaweed an option? According to FastCoExist, seaweed farms help clean the water from the pollution of carbon dioxide and nitrogen. The kelp that these farms also grow absorb five times more carbon than land-based plants. Mr. Smith’s seaweed farming was considered so innovative that his project, GreenWave, was awarded $100,000 from the Fuller Challenge Prize, who augment how the infrastructure is simple but helps to provide vibrant ecosystems.

To me, there is no disbelief as to why Mr. Smith’s GreenWave project has received such an honourable award, as his project of 3D Ocean farms seems like one of the most innovative systems I have come across whilst studying sustainable farming, whilst the project also doesn’t remove people from work but instead creates employment, something developing nations could utilise? Whilst absorbing carbon at a fast rate, the farms also supposedly act as a storm surge protector, reducing the impact of storms on shoreline communities. Furthermore, the system also acts as an artificial reef, attracting 150 species that after a decade of what was once a barren patch of ocean, has now become a thriving ecosystem.