SeaMark

SeaMark is a four-year project funded by Horizon Europe under contract no. 101060379. The project started on July 1, 2022. A consortium led by Ocean Rainforest comprising 25 international, cross-disciplinary partners has been awarded a prestigious €9 million Horizon Europe grant to upscale seaweed production and market applications across Europe. SeaMark will utilise recent ground-breaking selective breeding technologies within EU seaweed crop genetics to increase biomass yield. SeaMark aims to upscale circular ocean seaweed cultivation and land-based integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) systems and develop novel processing methods involving fermentation and biotransformation into twelve innovative seaweed-based products. The entire value chain will be analysed for techno-economic feasibility and socio-economic impact. SeaMark will also identify and quantify ecosystem services provided by seaweed cultivation. This will feed into a strategic development plan for upscaling seaweed production, and addressing the carrying capacity of seaweed cultivation in Europe. Due to the need to build more resilient food systems and decrease reliance on fossil-based products, it is necessary to grow the blue bio-economy through seaweed cultivation and product innovation. SeaMark will help fulfil the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (3, 8, 9, 12, 13 & 14) by developing this industry and, simultaneously, providing a positive impact on people and the planet.