Seaweed has many environmental benefits, including providing ecosystems for marine biodiversity and carbon sequestration. This week, we spoke with Kaira Wallace about the benefits of farming this valuable resource through the sustainable practice of aquaculture. For a transcript, please visit https://climatebreak.org/aquaculture-and-the-seaweed-industry-with-kaira-wallace/
Seaweed is a crucial part of ecosystems in several parts of the world, including our local California coasts. However, seaweed does more than just offer a home to local marine life. It also has immense carbon sequestration potential, and contains helpful compounds for a variety of different products. Because of these potential benefits, a new industry has arisen: aquaculture. This term refers to farming in the ocean, specifically of seaweed, in order to harness the valuable resources that can be derived from the plant.
Seaweed can be a more environmentally friendly way of growing food as it does not require the use of fertilizer, pesticides, freshwater, or land. According to The Nature Conservancy, global food production accounts for 80% of land degradation, 70% of freshwater use, and 33% of greenhouse gas emissions. Because of its lessened need for land resources, seaweed farming reduces these negative impacts on the environment. It also grows rapidly, and can be harvested in as little as six weeks. It also works as an underwater carbon sink, and can take in huge amounts of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, helping to clean the oceans and reduce the risk of dead zones—areas where nutrients from fertilizer cause low oxygen levels in water due to runoff and prevent life.
While farmed seaweed is not a new concept—it has roots in coastal economies, cultures, and diets, particularly in Asia—the industry has grown to become a $16.7 billion market. Two of the companies that have stepped in to harness the power of seaweed include Ocean Rainforest and Altasea. According to Ocean Rainforest, their mission is to “use science, innovation and expertise to apply sustainable methods to grow and harvest seaweed and process it into premium quality products for our target customer segments.” The company cultivates seaweed in the North Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean, and creates products including biostimulants, pet feed, skincare serums, and ingredients for restaurants.
AltaSea operates their farms at the Port of Los Angeles, and “is dedicated to accelerating scientific collaboration, advancing an emerging Blue Economy through business innovation, and job creation, and inspiring the next generation, all for a more sustainable, just, and equitable world.” On top of selling seaweed related products and services, AltaSea also focuses on conducting research and creating programs that immerse children and adults in ocean education.
One potential challenge the seaweed industry is facing is the fight for space on the coastline, between commercial shipping companies, military vessels, oil platforms, and wildlife protected areas. Also, there is always a risk to altering an ecosystem, even in the case of aquaculture. Space and ecosystems still must be cleared for seaweed farms, which might have consequences for the surrounding areas. In order for seaweed farming to make an impact, it will be crucial for California policies to align with the needs of aquaculture, including space for farms along the coast. Further, Ocean Rainforest and AltaSea are both engaging in outreach projects to promote sustainable aquaculture and seaweed products to hopefully spread the popularity of their eco-friendly products and processes.
Kaira Wallace is the Regulatory and Community Engagement Associate at OceanRainforest. She focuses on advancing offshore seaweed aquaculture in California by navigating complex permitting processes, building strong relationships with state and federal agencies, and ensuring compliance with environmental standards.
Jade Clemons is the Director of Economic and Workforce Development at AltaSea. Her work centers around California coastal and marine development policy, entrepreneurial ecosystem engagement and collaboration, and implementation of accessible blue economy career pathways.
For a transcript of this episode, please visit https://climatebreak.org/aquaculture-and-the-seaweed-industry-with-kaira-wallace/
Ethan: I’m Ethan Elkind, and you’re listening to Climate Break. Climate Solutions in a hurry. Today’s solution? Farming seaweed along the California coast to remove carbon from the ocean and support sustainable agriculture.
Kaira Wallace, a community engagement associate at the Ocean Rainforest organization, explains:
Wallace: Our ocean is kind of taking the brunt of the impact from climate change. It’s absorbing the majority of the carbon, and so seaweeds are dealing with that as well.
Ethan: Seaweed forests pull carbon out of seawater and help reduce ocean acidification. But marine heatwaves made worse by climate change can wipe this kelp out. That’s where the need for seaweed aquaculture, or seaweed farming, comes in.
Wallace: It just needs a substrate to grow on and the nutrients that naturally occur in the ocean and some sunlight. The seaweed itself as it’s growing, it’s absorbing carbon that's in the water, it's producing oxygen.
Ethan: That kelp can then help farms reduce their environmental footprint.
Wallace: We're turning it into a sort of fertilizer replacement or supplement, they're called biostimulants. And so you're getting the benefit on land as well, where in using these seaweed bio stimulant products, you're recycling some of those nutrients that the seaweed absorbed when it was growing.
Ethan: Since conventional fertilizers produce major greenhouse gas emissions, seaweed-based biostimulants can cut emissions while keeping nutrients in circulation between the ocean and the land. So what’s next for getting community members to support aquaculture projects?
Wallace: Community outreach and engagement and kind of emphasizing the benefits, you know, the environmental benefits that seaweed brings to the oceans, the economic benefits that it can bring, the jobs that it can bring.
Ethan: To learn more about sustainable seaweed farming, visit ClimateBreak.org