Seaweed is everywhere in the blue economy conversation. But can we actually scale it?

Food, feed, biostimulants, biomaterials, pharmaceuticals, carbon, biodiversity… Seaweed is often presented as one of the ocean’s most promising resources.

Yet behind the hype lies a much more complex reality: 98% of farmed seaweed is still produced in Asia, most farms remain highly manual, technology adoption is limited, and emerging regions are still searching for the right business models and markets.

In this episode of BlueTech Around the World, I sit down with Karlotta Rieve from Hatch Blue, who has visited more than 200 seaweed farms across Asia, Europe and the Americas.

Together, we explore what the seaweed industry really looks like on the ground? from low-tech community farming to smart monitoring, emerging markets, regulation, marine spatial planning and climate impact.

But one idea keeps coming back throughout our conversation: the next seaweed revolution may not be driven by technology alone.

It may depend on our ability to build better value chains, stronger business models and a new generation of “bridge-building entrepreneurs” capable of connecting coastal communities, technology, markets and investment.

Thank you for listening to BlueTech Around the World! 🌊

Resources:

Seaweed Insights https://seaweedinsights.com/

Global Seaweed New and Emerging Markets Report 2023 — World Bank Group
https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/environment/publication/global-seaweed-new-and-emerging-markets-report-2023

NOWA – Network of Women in Aquaculture https://www.nowaquaculture.org/

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