SEAGROW
Seaweed as a solution for biodiversity, climate and coastal economies
101241416 · EMFAF / CINEA · Seaweed in ecosystem-enhancing aquaculture for growth and sustainability
Via Pontica Foundation’s role
Beneficiary
Duration
36 months · 10.2025 – 09.2028
Status
Ongoing
Total eligible costs
1 427 742,73 €
EU grant
999 419,91 € (70%)
Partners
7 organisations from 5 countries
The challenge
Seaweed farming is one of the few forms of aquaculture that needs no feed and adds no nutrients to the environment — it removes them from the water instead. That is why it is talked about as a solution for food security, biodiversity and the climate at the same time.
The problem is not biological but economic and regulatory. The sector in Europe remains small because private investors lack a proven business model, measurable environmental benefits, standardised procedures and clarity on whether and where farming is permitted. Without those, nobody puts money into something that pays back only after years.
In the Mediterranean and the Black Sea the picture is even less clear — the regulatory barriers there have not even been systematically documented.
What the project does
SEAGROW is deploying innovative seaweed farming systems in Galway Bay, Ireland, and measuring their environmental effect through an assessment carried out by Trinity College Dublin. It measures the real changes in nitrates, phosphates and carbon brought about by regenerative ocean farming.
The aim is to de-risk the Galway Bay site for full-scale development by 2031, producing 5,000 tonnes of seaweed a year, with the model applied at further sites. An integrated multi-trophic aquaculture test site is also being set up to track the interaction between seaweed and scallop farming.
The main outputs are standard operating procedures for regenerative ocean farming, an ecosystem assessment protocol, an ecosystem credits system as a new revenue stream, an assessment of compatibility with marine protected areas, an eco-labelling system, a decision-support framework and an EU market development strategy.
A particular focus is removing the barriers to the sector’s development in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea through an analysis of the regulatory challenges.
Via Pontica’s role
Via Pontica is carrying out a feasibility study for a regenerative ocean farming pilot site in the Black Sea — work whose continuation is planned beyond the scope of the project itself. Added to that are the analysis of regulatory and environmental conditions in the region, the engagement of local stakeholders and experts, and hosting one of the project’s four stakeholder workshops — the one in Bulgaria.
Our task is to make sure the proposed solutions are realistic, regionally applicable and environmentally sound — not simply transplanted from the Atlantic.
Partnership
| Organisation | Country | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Óir na Farraige Teoranta (ÓNF) | Ireland | Coordinator |
| Trinity College Dublin | Ireland | Ecosystem impact assessment |
| Sea Going Green | Netherlands | Communication and stakeholder engagement |
| AIR Centre | Portugal | Research |
| Via Pontica Foundation | Bulgaria | Black Sea region, feasibility study |
| AquaBioTech Group | Malta | Aquaculture expertise |
| Clear Seas Aqua | Ireland | Hands-on farming |
Stakeholder workshops are planned in Malta, Bulgaria, Portugal and Brussels, along with an outreach programme for Irish primary schools along the Atlantic coast.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.