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Policy and solutions / Seaweed and Seashell Farming

« on: March 09, 2018, 07:06:37 PM »

I read "Atmosphere of Hope" by Tim Flannery recently and came across a topic I didn't know about, seaweed farming.  Apparently it's a way to reduce ocean acidification and draw down CO2 from the atmosphere.  It's been growing exponentially in the past decade and people are making money and producing food from it.

Globally, around 12 million tonnes of seaweed is grown and harvested annually, about three-quarters of which comes from China. The current market value of the global crop is between US$5 billion and US$5.6 billion, of which US$5 billion comes from sale for human consumption. Production, however, is expanding very rapidly.

Seaweeds can grow very fast – at rates more than 30 times those of land-based plants. Because they de-acidify seawater, making it easier for anything with a shell to grow, they are also the key to shellfish production. And by drawing CO₂ out of the ocean waters (thereby allowing the oceans to absorb more CO₂ from the atmosphere) they help fight climate change.

Here are a couple of links to articles about it:

https://theconversation.com/how-farming-giant-seaweed-can-feed-fish-and-fix-the-climate-81761

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/seaweed-is-easy-to-grow-sustainable-and-nutritious-but-itll-never-be-kale/2015/10/26/1d1719b8-7750-11e5-b9c1-f03c48c96ac2_story.html?utm_term=.ddbbc9294451

https://e360.yale.edu/features/new_breed_of_ocean_farmer_aims_to_revive_global_seas