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52 | INNOVATIONS

BLUE INDUSTRY
What will the high

potential of algae

lead to?

The second Seaweed Day was held at Monaco's Oceanographic
Museum and brought ambassadors of the seaweed industry
together. Seaweed is emerging as a sustainable ocean-based

solution with innovative economic prospects.

Speaking in the museum's conference room on A pioneering blue-growth company based in the Fa-
23 March 2023, Robert Calcagno, Director of the roe Islands and California, Ocean Rainforest has ex-
Oceanographic Institute, spoke of the momentum panded rapidly in the space of just one year, covering
of development in the algae sector in Europe and 4 countries: "A momentum that we need if seaweed
throughout the rest of the world. At the start of the production is to become an industry with a positive
session, Australian explorer and scientist Tim Flannery environmental impact", says Olavur Gregersen, who
expressed his delight at this development: "The algae is identifying the most relevant market sectors for
industry has a long history, particularly in Asia. It's an rapid scale-up. It builds further on the 2017 SAPEA
industry that's evolving very quickly at the moment, report that "the potential for seaweed mariculture
and it's an opportunity for society to change." The cli- to produce large quantities of food and biomass is
mate change and conservation specialist encouraged much greater than for any other group of marine or-
research and recognised the potential of algae to se- ganisms" (The Evidence Review Report, 2017). These
quester carbon in the ocean environment, "a poten- two trajectories show just how much the algae sector
tial that could have a real impact on climate change". has become worthy of investment and development,
Especially as algae cultivation is likely to extend over and where competitiveness seems to go hand in
9% of the ocean, explained the renowned researcher. hand with collaboration.

A SECTOR WITH A BRIGHT The second panel went on to explore the possibility
FUTURE of restoring wild seaweed forests through sea urchin
farming, with a presentation by a representative of
Opening the first session, two seaweed farmers Urchinomics, Vincent Doumeizel, Senior Advisor to
shared the milestones in the development of seaweed the United Nations Global Compact, presented the
farming from a start-up to a high-growth, sustainable pillars of action of the Safe Seaweed Coalition, which
business. Dutch entrepreneur Daniel Hooft, director has over 1,000 members, and its main objectives,
of Kelp Blue, which he founded in 2020, showed how specifically responding to Sustainable Development
offshore kelp cultivation in Namibia is being deve- Goal 11.
loped on an industrial scale along sustainable lines
that are integrated into the territory. In addition to its
wide range of products and applications, this activity
aims to generate carbon credits (Kelp Blue is aiming
for accreditation in 2025).