Job Schipper; Javier Infante; Bert Groenendaal; Theo Verleun
SWD Connectors; Partners and Advisors
Over the last decade seaweed farming has been developing in Europe, the America’s and Australia / New Zealand. However compared to Asia the acreages are still very small and the produced biomass too little to attract large industries. Scaling of the seaweed farms to a unit production of around 10.000 ton wet weight, would reduce the cost price and make seaweed as a raw material much more interesting for industrial applications.
Several projects have been initiated to develop seaweed cultivation rigs which allow moving further offshore. Most elementary however is the farm site selection. In this talk we review recent scientific research work and complement this with our team experience. The site selection criteria will be discussed, ranging from oceanographic aspects and ecosystem impacts to nutrient supply. Important selection criteria, such as bio-fouling and nutrient supply will be discussed with respect to cultivation approach and yield. Solutions for cost effective, safe and robust offshore seaweed farming will be touched.