This presentation will provide an overview of the Port of San Diego’s Blue Economy Incubator portfolio with a spotlight on two companies: Sunken Seaweed and ECOncrete. In addition, we will provide an overview of our climate resiliency and nature-based solutions projects.
The Port’s Blue Economy Incubator (BEI) assists in the creation, development, and scaling of new water-dependent business ventures on San Diego Bay focusing on sustainable aquaculture and Port-related blue technologies. The Incubator currently has nine companies in its portfolio, including a shoreline protection project called ECOncrete. The ECOncrete interlocking units provide structural, ecological and community engagement benefits, including the promotion of marine organisms and restoration of local ecosystems. Ultimately, results from the pilot will serve to demonstrate an innovative win-win approach to coastal protection by providing resiliency and adaptation strategies in an urban environment while simultaneously enhancing valuable marine life and bolstering coastal ecosystems.
The Port has also been conducting studies, planning, and pre-development work to support and inform aquaculture opportunities in and around San Diego Bay. Seaweed aquaculture has the potential to store significant amounts of carbon, provide a sustainable source of micronutrients and protein and offer a range of co-benefits and could support the future development of nutrient trading programs. The Port is currently supporting a pilot to grow several species of seaweed native to Southern California and exploring expanding domestic markets for uses in human and animal food production, biofuels, and fertilizers, as well as exploring a variety of ecosystem services applications.
In parallel with the BEI, the Port is building a portfolio of nature-based solutions that advance the ecological health of San Diego Bay including an Eelgrass Blue Carbon Study to look at carbon sequestration potential of eelgrass beds, completing entitlements to create a wetland mitigation bank and restore 75 acres of wetlands and uplands in South San Diego Bay, and a recently installed Native Oyster Living Shoreline Project to prevent erosion and restore native oyster populations.