Seaweed is on track to become the fourth largest crop globally, outpacing potato production by 2051. This continued expansion raises pushback from ocean stakeholders, often centering on concerns of environmental impacts in new communities where farms are being introduced, such as marine mammal entanglement and invasive species. Meanwhile, research continues to bolster widely recognized ecosystem services of kelp farming activities, including uptake of excess nutrients, mitigation of ocean acidification, and habitat creation. Farms also contribute to carbon sequestration, and harvested biomass can be used in value chains that offset global resource use.
Environmental NGOs recognizing the contribution of kelp farming to effectively restore ecosystems and address societal challenges as a nature-based solution have a key role to play in improving public buy-in for the industry and driving the conversation on mitigating risk.
WWF-US has implemented a strategy to reduce barriers for the responsible expansion of the seaweed industry in underdeveloped seaweed farming regions, namely the North Atlantic and Eastern Pacific. Partner projects have results on new tools to address whale entanglement fears, understand how coastal communities respond to different messaging around seaweed farms, and quantifying the benefits of farming seaweed adjacent to mussels.
This presentation will discuss the important role that conservation organizations can play in advancing growth of the global seaweed farming industry and expansion into new regions, highlighting examples of innovative work to address commonly cited risks and influencing investment funding into critical sectors of the industry. In conversation with local communities, there is room for farms to scale up, a necessary step to achieve meaningful climate impacts.