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How an Army of Ocean Farmers Are Starting an Economic Revolution

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Re: How an Army of Ocean Farmers Are Starting an Economic Revolution

#3
A very innovative model and it looks promising.

The awareness about such initiatives is still very limited. This model could go mainstream with awareness and support from the Government.

This model could be especially useful in developing countries, with a coast line of course, though it was not clear from the article if this is applicable to fresh water bodies like lakes and rivers.

The cons or potential pitfalls/problems of this model have not been explored yet. It's something worth looking at.

Re: How an Army of Ocean Farmers Are Starting an Economic Revolution

#4
I'd imagine there would be some impact on the native ecosystem. You can't prevent the seed from escaping the aquafarm and (potentially invasive) oysters and kelps growing where they normally would not, displacing local species.

That said.. the small footprint of these farms means you could probably localize this impact, or pick areas that are at a lower risk for farming.

Potentially the biggest hurdle here would be regulatory issues to prevent the above issues from happening without stifling the industry.

Super interesting subject.

Re: How an Army of Ocean Farmers Are Starting an Economic Revolution

#6

I'd imagine there would be some impact on the native ecosystem. You can't prevent the seed from escaping the aquafarm and (potentially invasive) oysters and kelps growing where they normally would not, displacing local species. That said.. the small footprint of these farms means you could probably localize this impact, or pick areas that are at a lower risk for farming. Potentially the biggest hurdle here would be r…

If there are many thousands of edible sea plants, maybe plants and shellfish local to the region could be used.

Seems like you could potentially find places where the farms would do more good than harm, even ignoring the food production aspect: They claimed that the farms make good habitats for various types of marine life, serve as effective storm breaks, etc. I wonder if they might even be able to improve local ocean chemistry in some cases (absorbing fertilizer runoff, stabilizing pH, etc.).

It will take significant practical experience and study to tease out all the effects and figure out the most sustainable techniques. At any rate, it’s likely better than most of the existing fish farms in the ocean. How are those currently regulated?

Re: How an Army of Ocean Farmers Are Starting an Economic Revolution

#10
We need open source resources on how to build and maintain farms like this. Unfortunately these guys are not sharing yet, at least I couldn't find any detailed information. I'd love to try this myself, but as a complete novice i'd need a lot basic information - like what species to grow, how to get seeds and plant them, etc.
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