Nancy Owano : Tech Xplore : 27 Oct 2015
A fisherman working in industrialized fishing environments realized something that affected his fundamental outlook on what he was doing: he was witnessing very efficient fishing technologies and boats ripping up entire ecosystems with trawls; he was seeing efficient technologies being applied in ways that were chasing fish farther and farther out to sea.
Bren Smith eventually went on to develop a model for ocean farming. He is executive director of GreenWave, and he is on a mission to help support ocean life and human life. His farm design has won a prize in the 2015 Buckminster Fuller Challenge given by the Buckminster Fuller Institute. He is recognized for coming up with an innovative solution in sustainable ocean farming, a model for development of multi-species ocean farms.
Biofuels Digest talked about what is special about Smith's concept--a shift away from growing vulnerable monocultures to vibrant ecosystems, which can result in higher yields. The push is for sustainable aquaculture that produces high yields while restoring and improving the ocean's ecosystems. Bren Smith said, "We hope that our model of 3D ocean farming will be a catalyst for the restoration of ocean ecosystems, mitigating of climate change and helping feed the planet. The infrastructure is simple: seaweed, scallops and mussels grow on floating ropes, stacked above oyster and clam cages below. From these crops ocean farmers can produce food, fertilizers, animal feeds, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, biofuels and much more. The farms filter harmful pollutants out of water, sequester CO2, support biodiversity, and are thus designed to restore rather than deplete our ecosystems," wrote Meghan Sapp in Biofuels Digest.
The entire article can be read at: source.
Bren Smith eventually went on to develop a model for ocean farming. He is executive director of GreenWave, and he is on a mission to help support ocean life and human life. His farm design has won a prize in the 2015 Buckminster Fuller Challenge given by the Buckminster Fuller Institute. He is recognized for coming up with an innovative solution in sustainable ocean farming, a model for development of multi-species ocean farms.
Biofuels Digest talked about what is special about Smith's concept--a shift away from growing vulnerable monocultures to vibrant ecosystems, which can result in higher yields. The push is for sustainable aquaculture that produces high yields while restoring and improving the ocean's ecosystems. Bren Smith said, "We hope that our model of 3D ocean farming will be a catalyst for the restoration of ocean ecosystems, mitigating of climate change and helping feed the planet. The infrastructure is simple: seaweed, scallops and mussels grow on floating ropes, stacked above oyster and clam cages below. From these crops ocean farmers can produce food, fertilizers, animal feeds, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, biofuels and much more. The farms filter harmful pollutants out of water, sequester CO2, support biodiversity, and are thus designed to restore rather than deplete our ecosystems," wrote Meghan Sapp in Biofuels Digest.
The entire article can be read at: source.
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