Regenerative Ocean Farming & Blue Economy
This was the fourth event in our Autumn Webinar Series in partnership with the GoNaturePositive! project. We were privileged to have Gareth Murphy, the Community Ambassador for the Regenerative Ocean Farming community on the Connecting Nature Enterprise Platform and Simona Fondate from the Western Development Commission on the panel.
Summary of Gareth Murphy's Session on Seaweed Farming
Gareth Murphy, a second-generation mussel farmer from Bantry Bay and Seaweed Project Manager at Simply Blue Group, shared his journey in establishing Óir an Farraige, a spin-off from Simply Blue Group. which specializes in pioneering solutions in Offshore Wind, Sustainable Fuels, Sustainable Aquaculture, and Marine Energy. During his travels across Europe and the Nordic countries, Gareth explored innovative seaweed farming practices, bringing back valuable insights to enhance methods at home. He also showcased his latest project, North Sea Farm 1, deployed off the coast of the Netherlands, sharing captivating images and videos of its progress.
Gareth also delved into the concept of restorative aquaculture, emphasizing the vital role of seaweed in this approach and providing an overview of the aquaculture licensing process. He discussed the challenges and opportunities facing the aquaculture and marine business sectors. He highlighted the growing involvement of corporate partners in advancing these groundbreaking projects and the transformative potential of artificial intelligence.
Key Takeaways from Simona's discussion on the GoNaturePositive project
Ecological Significance:
The blue economy plays a crucial role in ecology, contributing to biodiversity conservation, climate regulation, and coastal protection. However, it also has high impacts on nature through habitat destruction, pollution, overfishing, and the spread of invasive species.
Economic Importance:
The blue economy is a significant economic driver, with 40% of the world's population living near coastal areas, over 3 billion people relying on oceans for their livelihood, and 80% of world trade conducted via seas. In the EU alone, it directly employs over 4 million people and accounts for 1.3% of GDP.
Nature-Based Solutions (NbS):
There are substantial opportunities for nature-based solutions within the blue economy, including ecosystem conservation and restoration, climate change mitigation and adaptation, sustainable green jobs, and regenerative transformation.
Nature-Positive Economy (NPE):
The GoNaturePositive project, with its concept note, emphasises the importance of transitioning to a nature-positive economy, where the net result of all economic activities leads to an absolute increase in nature to the point of full recovery. This approach recognises that everyone and everything in society depends on nature for survival and prosperity.
Integrated Approach:
Achieving a nature-positive economy requires an integrated, whole-of-society approach that respects human rights, involves legislation to stop environmentally harmful activities, supports nature-positive actions, and promotes equity, fairness, and justice.
Webinar Recording
For further information on the GoNaturePositive! project and to follow the latest developments, visit https://www.gonaturepositive.eu/.