From Sea to Society

Startdatum: 01/04/2022
Einddatum: 31/03/2026

Er is een dringende nood aan een alternatieve productieketen van eiwitten, en daarom is het initiatief genomen voor onderzoek naar een mariene, efficiënte, duurzame, laag trofische aquacultuurketen (LTA), die gebaseerd is op biomassa van gecombineerde off-shore teelt van zeewier en mosselen. Sociale innovatie en waardecreatie van deze eiwitproductieketen hebben hierbij topprioriteit. Ze worden ondersteund door doorbraken vanuit de levenswetenschappen, zoals veredeling van steriele zeewieren, innovatieve bio-raffinage en inzicht in de draagkracht van het natuurlijke mariene ecosysteem. De vergaarde kennis en kunde wordt door het KCOI samengebracht in de Seaweed Learning Community, die ook de continuïteit van de LTA zal waarborgen.

The Seaweed Learning Community unites researchers in the Netherlands working on an alternative marine protein production chain, based on combined offshore seaweed and mussel cultivation in the North Sea. Funding for the community is guaranteed until September 2026 through NWO-KIC funding for Aquatic Food Production. Our consortium projects are: From Sea to Society, CircAqua, Seaseeds, FloatingFuture, SeaSolv and ProSeeds.

The overall aim of the Seaweed Learning Community is to increase the collective capacity of innovating, working and learning to be able to tackle complex challenges. Members exchange insights and experiences in online and offline meetings.

Its learning agenda is managed by a steering committee. Topics include (a) selective breeding of sugar kelp; (b) improved attachment of sugar kelp; (c) interactions between mussels and seaweed and their performance in the offshore North Sea; (d) the consequences of large scale seaweed culture on the marine ecology; (e) innovative biorefinery of seaweed biomass; (f) low trophic aquaculture value chains; (g) business models for Dutch seaweed; (h) consumer acceptance and social innovation; (i) governance of cross-sector innovation for circular low trophic aquaculture in the North Sea.

Eventually, breakthroughs will find their way through the learning community to the seaweed and mussel sector workers, the processing industry, retailers, and consumers. The learning community will also translate experiences into educational programmes.