What it will take to rid the Caribbean of Sargassum tides
Plus: science paper round-up, permit woes & investment news
Because the Caribbean is so dependent on revenue from tourism, dealing with Sargassum tides is almost a matter of national security, says SOS Carbon. The MIT spin-off is now deploying their Sargassum harvester in the Dominican Republic.
It easily fits on small fishing boats, which offers rapid scalability for them, and formal employment for fishermen. They also developed straightforward pump-it-down seaweed sinking technology.
I listened to the team talk about their business plans, why they think sinking is a necessary part of any Sargassum strategy, and the paradigm shift needed for the Caribbean at large to tackle this issue in earnest.
Investments and grants
At the end of last year, biorefinery startup Oceanium raised another $1 million from investors Green Angel Syndicate, Norfolk Green Ventures and Sustainable Ocean Alliance. This brings their total funding over $8m since inception in 2018.
Swedish grower Nordic Seafarm received $900,000 from the EMFF to scale up its production of Ulva to 1000 tonnes by 2030.
Spanish Pyratex makes textiles from, among other things, seaweed. They raised 600 000 euro investment from Asics, Waveform Investments and business angels.
Permits
New year, same problems. In the last newsletter, New Yorkers were given the space to complain. This time Californians get to vent about the difficulties you face trying to get a kelping permit.
However, while local would-be farmers have been waiting for 6 years to receive a kelp farming permit, new entrant Ocean Rainforest has managed to secure a permit for an offshore demonstration site a lot quicker.
Seaweed science you might have missed
The Martone Lab made a big step forward in the cultivation of Nereocystis (bull kelp).
Paper alert!
You don't need fish to make IMTA work - mussels alone already have positive effects on kelp growth (paper)
How to manage kelp forests? Use an ecosystems-based approach (infographic - paper)
Towards a standardized framework for marine restoration monitoring and reporting (infographic - paper)
Using seaweed to generate electric currents not far from the level of standard solar cells (plain English - paper)
Kelp biochar removes toxic heavy metals such as antimony, chromium, and arsenic from water (plain Korean - paper)
Briefly dipping sugar kelp in hot water removes most of the iodine, and turns the kelp bright green (plain Danish - paper)
P.S.
The soon-to-be Seaweed Academy at SAMS is looking for your input. If you would like to take a seaweed course, let them know what you are looking for in this survey.