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A PROMISING INDUSTRY SEAWEED AND BLUE

IN EUROPE CARBON: A GROUND-
BREAKING STUDY
A detailed analysis of 223 European seaweed com-
panies, published by Seaweed for Europe in a The second session provided the exclusive opportu-
2021 report, shows that the last ten years have been nity to unveil the study on carbon sequestration by
4
marked by an extremely high trajectory: “The Euro- seaweed, produced on the initiative of NGO Ocean
pean pipeline does not only comprise businesses in 2050. Its president, Alexandra Cousteau, wasted no
the start-up phase, but also quite commercially ma- time in introducing eminent marine ecologist Carlos
ture businesses. It is extremely solid”, Jennifer Ring M. Duarte, Professor at the King Abdullah University
from Seaweed for Europe, remarks. “30% of these of Science and Technology (Saudi Arabia) and Chief
businesses are not dedicated to a single application, Scientist at Ocean 2050. The latter pointed out that
because seaweed offers a whole range of applica- “wild seaweed contributes to carbon sequestration at
tions, sometimes with a zero-waste objective”. From the same level as seagrass, mangroves and salt mar-
an investment point of view, the seaweed market shes all combined”. The study, led by the Professor,
is becoming increasingly attractive, the amount in- took samples of sediments (3,300 samples) located
vested has multiplied by a factor of 23 since 2012. under 21 seaweed farms across the globe to deter-
mine the carbon sequestration potential. Some have
Launched in February 2022, EU4Algae is a brand- existed for 3 years, others, such as the one in Tokyo
new collaborative e-platform whose goal is to disse- Bay, have been there for 300 years. Covering an area
minate information on the seaweed sector in Europe. varying from 1 hectare to 150,000 km , each farm
2
“We are trying to see how this sustainable and re- has a unique layout. The methodology used to as-
generative production method can be optimised, we sess carbon sequestration was based on the analysis
are developing support mechanisms for the seaweed of accumulated carbon stocks carried out by Profes-
business, as well as ocean farming in the countries of sor Antonio Delgado at the Andalusian Institute for
Europe”, says Maris Stulgis, European Commission Earth Science Research (Spain), as well as the dating
DG MARE and Head of EU4Algae. of the various soil strata by Doctor Pere Masque from
the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in
Monaco.

4. “A seaweed aquaculture imperative to meet global sustainability
targets”, Carlos Duarte et al., Nature Sustainability, October 2021.

IN
FIGURES

■ 2/3 of seaweed farm soils have high levels
of organic carbon,

■ 2 tonnes of CO / hectare: the annual average
2
level of carbon sequestration.

SEAWEED FORESTS: THE AMAZON OF THE SEA
■ 7.2 million km , i.e. the equivalent of the
2
Amazon Forest which borders the planet’s
coastlines. (source: Duarte et al., 2022)