Becoming an Ocean Protector - Collaborating with BlueCs on Valuation of Ecosystem Services of Seaweed Farming
Annelise Chapman (Founder and Manager), Hege Ask (board member) and the rest of the team at TANGO Seaweed are happy to cooperate with Matthias Boeing (Co-founder BlueCs) on how to valuate and integrate ecosystem services as a part of the company’s business model. (All pictures Copyright: TANGO Seaweed).
TANGO Seaweed is proud to be partnering with the dedicated team at BlueCs on bringing ecosystem services of seaweed farming to the market. BlueCs is creating a trading platform for certificates of positive tangible impact.
Last week we had Matthias Boeing from BlueCs visiting us. BlueCs is a recent start-up company dedicated to protecting the oceans through valuating positive ocean impacts. For TANGO Seaweed, they represent a piece in the seaweed economy puzzle, which we have long been waiting for. Valuating and commercialising the positive environmental impacts from seaweed farming, as well as building a sales system around, will help seaweed farmers like us to develop a viable business.
The presence of seaweed in open water farms provides services to the surrounding ecosystem, e.g. the uptake of nutrients (functioning as fertiliser). Nutrients occur naturally in marine waters, but may also come from agriculture, or – in our region – from salmon farming. They represent a valuable resource which will be re-cycled when our seaweeds absorb them and grow into biomass for food. In this way, seaweed farms contribute to keeping nutrients in the loop and may prevent problems of excess supply.
Through a trading platform for certificates associated with a specified service (in this case nutrients removed from the water by a defined amount of seaweed in your local farm), BlueCs will connect sellers (seaweed farmers) with buyers motivated to valuate such services.
To find out more, check out BlueCs’ website here.
During his visit, Matthias also gave a presentation at ÅKP’s Founders’ Lunch and to the Sustainability Team of Møre & Romsdal County visiting Herøy.
This was progressive and innovative business development in the context of a sustainable blue bio-economy in practice.
We are lucky to have such partnerships and creative minds around us!
