Supported projects

Banco Español de Algas (BEA – Spanish Bank of Algae) is creating a reference collection of seaweed from Macronesia to conserve biological diversity of the local seaweed and ocean life.

The Alfred Wegener Institute is implementing the SeaStrains Workshop, a Europe-wide strategy to conserve genetic seaweed resources under the threat of global change through a centralized biobank.

The University of Malaya in Malaysia is creating a global taxonomic framework for the carrageenan industry to benefit biobanking, breeding, and quality control

Universidad Austral de Chile aspires to characterize and biobank pests and pathogens of pelillo to develop tools that will aid in risk management as related to biosecurity.

The Marine Environment and Resources Foundation at the University of the Philippines is seeking to select and curate safe and healthy eucheumatoids for the continued health of the local seaweed industry.

Sea Health Products aims to introduce commercial-scale kelp farming to Australia by developing hatchery techniques for the development of the local seaweed industry.

The Kelp Forest Foundation is examining the impact of kelp cultivation on biodiversity by using environmental DNA samples from around kelp forests to monitor the changes in biodiversity over time.

Sea PoWer, Tanzania, a seaweed farming innovation for women’s empowerment, working through Aqua-Farms to provide livelihoods for women amidst the challenges presented by climate change.

Yunus Foundation in Thailand will develop a social business model for the safe and sustainable growth of the local seaweed industry.

Ningbo University will provide technical training for seaweed cultivation and safe production through safety manuals, online courses, and workshops for international training purposes.

Notpla Limited, a company located in England, will create a pilot program for seaweed-based packaging while providing consumers with information about where and how seaweed used in the biomaterial is produced.

B’ZEOS AS, a Norwegian organization aspires to bring food-safe seaweed to commercial markets packaging by addressing legal and regulatory obstacles.

Universidad de Los Lagos will develop a standardized seaweed composition, quality evaluation, and waste reduction framework within the Americas through The Coalition for Safe Seaweeds in the Americas.

The SUBMARINER Network for Blue Growth will create a framework for Baltic seaweed bio safety by creating environmental guidance, recommendations, and position papers addressing monitoring and license conditions for cultivating seaweed in the Baltic Sea.

Ocean Farmers is securing the sustainability and safety of the seaweed cultivation industry in Madagascar by collecting, cataloguing, and identifying superior cultivars for commercial production along with a biosecurity policy.

Blue[c]weed in New Caledonia is launching a South Pacific Seaweed Working Group to address safety issues and the lack of standards that may hinder the development and diversification of the seaweed industry in the region.

Société de Pêche de Sainte-Marie / Nosy Boraha Seaweed (NBS) in Madagascar is creating an innovative solution to provide ocean data to understand ecosystem services seaweed farming brings and accelerate the development of sustainable seaweed production.

National Institute of Marine Sciences and Technologies in Tunisia is enhancing tunisian capacities for seaweed production and biotechnology and highlighting the seaweed sector potentialities in the South Mediterranean Region.

GreenWave in USA is developing and promoting safe post-harvest handling packaging, and storage best practices and resources for kelp farmers and other industry stakeholders

Coast 4C in Philippines will pilot a proven typhoon-resistant platform as a sea-based nursery to accelerate biomass recovery of high-quality seedlings in the aftermath of super typhoon Rai (Odette).

Healthy Seaweed Co. Limited in Tanzania is investigating and assessing the nutritional values of seaweed and seaweed based foods made from Tanzania to increase safety and wellbeing for consumers.

Ocean Approved LLC in USA is testing for heavy metals and nutritional variances at 27 farms over an entire growing season spanning a distance of over 325 km and four natural embayments to inform site selection to minimize heavy-metal uptake and nutritional density on future farms.

Senegalese Institute for Agricultural Research (ISRA) in Senegal is improving processing and cultivation of the rhodophyte Meristhotheca senegalensis, a good source of iodine and carrageenan, to drive further developments in the local seagriculture.

Yunus Foundation in Thailand will propose a capacity-building approach to unlock the potential of seaweed for the empowerment of low-income coastal communities, particularly women. Building on GSC supported Safe Seaweed Thailand project, the project shall develop product and value chain innovation for a self-sustaining and scalable model focusing on the commercially underutilized Caulerpa racemosa and C. lentifillera species.

Universidad de Los Lagos’s i~mar center in Chile will offer an alternative for kelp biomass utilization, long-term storage and enrichment using ensilage techniques for Macrocystis pyrifera. Two key aspects will be evaluated: using additives and different physical configurations for fermentation. Finally, a technical and economic analysis will be performed to assess the implications of large-scale seaweed ensilage implementation in this region.

Algolesko in France will precisely, rigorously and innovatively measure the biodiversity impact of seaweed cultivation. The results of this study supported by the Roscoff Biological Station could accelerate the development of the seaweed sector. The project will feed a larger initiative of international scientific cooperation promoting its communication and stakeholder engagement to promote the benefits of seaweed as it will be part of a larger 3-year project involving the applicants together with an international network.

Mavunolab in Zanzibar will deploy low-cost solar dryers to small-scale seaweed farmers in Dimani and Nyamanzi villages, Unguja Island leading to safer, reliable, and efficient seaweed processing in Zanzibar. Many small-scale seaweed farmers rely on traditional seaweed drying practices, particularly open sun drying, which is inefficient and exposes seaweed consumers to several health risks and food safety hazards, including contamination of microplastics and sand

Kelp Forest Foundation in Namibia will undertake studies to assess cultivated giant kelp’s (Macrocystis sp.) potential at mitigating ocean acidification within a kelp farm and the corresponding effect on calcifying organisms that settle on Kelp Blue’s farm structures. The project will to measure the effect of kelp in reducing excess nutrients from ambient seawater, and promote bioremediation through co-growing practices.

Ocen Farmers in Madagascar will develop commercially viable and climate-resilient local strains of Kappaphycus sp. for community aquaculture, in collaboration with academia and the government of Madagascar. Ocean Farmers currently contracts 3,000 seaweed farming households, with the activity providing an alternative income source for coastal communities, reducing reliance on destructive fishing practices.

Rézomes in Zanzibar and Madagascar will develop a low-tech open-source process capable of transforming seaweed with low added value into safe and accessible organic fertilizers for farming communities. This innovative low-tech solution for local agriculture will use a combination of low-tech processes inspired by bokashi and indigenous techniques, and can be replicated in South East Asia.