Sargassum seaweed experiment conducted in SVG deemed a success

Seafields, an aquaculture company based in the UK, on June, 5 announced that a recent trial aimed at growing, controlling and domesticating sargassum seaweed has been deemed a success.

The trial which was conducted at the Mount Wynne Beach started last year and is being described as a scientific breakthrough by the company.

A release from Seafields said the trial proves the company can move forward with plans to gather the seaweed and contain it in farms out at sea, before it becomes a nuisance to residents and tourism in coastal areas where the seaweed washes ashore.

“The coastal regions of the Caribbean are significantly affected by the large fraction that beach each season, not just because it banks up on the beaches but also starts to degrade once it hits land, rotting and releasing greenhouse gases back into the atmosphere and hydrogen sulphide that can negatively impact wildlife and affect people with respiratory problems,” the release states.

Seafields’ has signalled its plan to reduce the amount of Sargassum beaching by catching the seaweed further out at sea before it reaches land through innovative ‘catch and grow’ stationary aquafarms.

Seafields co-founder and CEO, John Auckland said, “…we needed to prove that in controlling the Sargassum in the barrier, we could also control and domesticate it by keeping the Sargassum alive. Beyond that, if we could prove it would continue to grow in this environment, then we can capture more carbon dioxide in the process and start to regulate supply to some of the industries that are popping up around Sargassum in the region.”

Dr. Franziska Elmer, Seafields Scientific Project Manager, who led the trial said the team not only saw the growth of Sargassum, the seaweed also attracted hundreds of juvenile fish including jacks, a popular catch for local fishers.

“As these fish grew up and larger fish started using the farm as a habitat, local fishermen started using it as a spearfishing ground, helping them to earn their livelihood”.

The end goal for Seafields is to make Sargassum a global solution for climate change by baling and sinking some of their crop in the deep ocean, well away from the Caribbean islands, to remove billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, while also seeking to supply seaweed to companies that need a steady stockpile of the algae in their manufacturing process.