The Netherlands hopes research project will jumpstart large-scale seaweed production offshore

In the coming years, the use and layout of a large part of the Dutch North Sea will change dramatically. At the same time, the demand for sustainably produced food, especially protein and biogenic raw materials will increase. Scientists from Wageningen University Research and other institutions, with financial support from the Dutch Research Council (NWO), will conduct research into an efficient and sustainable protein production chain in the sea, the effects of large-scale seaweed production on marine ecology and new business models for seaweed production. Researchers from WUR are leading the SEASeeds consortium that will study the improvement of attachment of seaweed seedlings (sugar kelp) to cultivation lines, the effects of large-scale seaweed cultivation on the marine ecology and the development of promising business models for Dutch seaweed. Small-scale cultivation trials show that large and variable detachment of seaweeds currently results in inefficient and unpredictable ...