Dr Nigel Bradly, Rebecca Barclay
EnviroStrat Ltd, Level 3, 23 Britomart Place, Auckland, New Zealand.
Seaweed farming has been identified by government and industry as having strong economic prospects for NZ, and as a tool to help combat climate change. To date, there has been limited interest from the established NZ aquaculture industry to use consented water space for farming seaweed due to regulatory hurdles, operational uncertainties and commercial risk. As a result, future sector growth is heavily constrained by the lack of a reliable and scalable supply chain for NZ seaweed. EnviroStrat is piloting New Zealand’s first Regenerative Ocean Farm (ROF) model using the native brown seaweed Ecklonia radiata kelp as a fundamental crop. The ROF model involves the co-cultivation of compatible zero-input marine species like mussels and seaweed that will create additional revenue streams for the farmers while generating positive environmental outcomes before the crop is harvested. At the heart of the ROF model are profitable independent marine farmers from local communities that build economic and social resilience for coastal communities. The pilot is led by EnviroStrat, in collaboration with the University of Waikato, Premium Seas, AgriSea, University of Auckland, and Māori tribes Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki and Ngāti Pūkenga. This pilot will establish an end-to-end supply chain, optimising hatchery production and productivity of seaweed farming, and enabling future sector growth. It will consider the influence of different biophysical and environmental factors on growth rates, different growing mediums and farm structures, and impacts of seaweed farming on nutrient uptake, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration.