NSA Cluster Insights Report - Valorisation of the regenerative aquaculture products: Deliverable 4.1 (Due M18)

Sammendrag

The C-FAARER CSA project was created with the overall aim of supporting marine innovators,
entrepreneurs, and other pioneers in the Atlantic and Arctic Sea basin in transitioning towards the
use of community-driven sustainable business models for regenerative ocean farming. The
project previously defined regenerative ocean farming as “a form of marine venture that gives
back more than it takes out, leaving nature in a better state that benefits future generations”
(Kapletia et al., 2024). Community-driven regenerative ocean farming was defined as
“concerned with creating a sustainable and mutually-beneficial balance between social, economic
and environmental interests, providing renewable and systemic benefits to all who hold an interest
in the future wealth of marine and coastal life.”
This report provides the basis for Deliverable 4.1 within the Valorisation of the regenerative
aquaculture products work package (WP4). Processing is a part of this WP, and processing
technologies were included as an integral part of regenerative ocean farming since seaweed
deteriorates rapidly post-harvest and needs rapid processing to maintain quality. Furthermore,
the principles of community-driven regenerative ocean farming, as stated in Deliverable 1.1
(Kapletia et al., 2024), include the following (principle 3): “Farming and processing equipment is
low impact, energy efficient, and suited for area/volume and environmental goals.” The objectives
of WP4 are to assess the market potential of the downstream value chain and collaboratively
identify and analyse potential applications, critically examine the dynamic relationship between
production and processing, identify opportunities to increase value and reduce risk, and facilitate
and explore the problem-opportunity space, where technological solutions may have a role to play
in supporting valorisation.
This deliverable presents case studies of members of the Norwegian Seaweed Association (NSA)
in the context of their processing practices and product development. Within regenerative
aquaculture, “products” include traditional products such as food, feed, and biostimulants. It can
also be argued that other alternative revenue streams, like ecosystem services and social
services, can also be considered “products”.
This report takes a Case Study approach, in which ten semi-structured interviews with ten NSA
seaweed businesses preceded follow-up consultations with a select few of these companies. A
case study from outside the NSA was included as a comparison.

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NVA : hdl.handle.net/11250/5371285