Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation

The sustainable seaweed aquaculture capstone project describes the process of discovery connecting the production, distribution, and consumption of sustainable seaweed in the Southern California region. Increasing the supply of safe, sustainably produced domestic seafood is a stated priority of the State Legislature, the National

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Department of Commerce; however, the aquaculture industry of California is still in its nascency. Site visits and interviews of business leadership revealed that California seaweed aquaculture is primarily a boutique industry consisting of a relatively small group operations cultivating

relatively few species for culinary use at high end seafood restaurants. To gather qualitative understanding of operational management and consumer attitudes towards consuming native seaweeds, we visited regional distribution outlets focusing on fresh, high quality, local seaweed. Next, consumption of seaweed was explored through collaborative food events with six different chefs spanning Northern Baja California to San Luis Obispo. A series of four scientific growth experiments was designed for two high value native culinary seaweeds Gracilaria pacifica (Ogo) and Palmaria palmate (Dulse), which were subsequently funded by an E.W. Scripps Associates grant via the Director's Office. Finally, a series of business resources was leveraged to begin the process of venture creation, including the Rady Micro MBA program, Rady Lab to Market SPARK program, Triton Innovation Challenge, and Rady Social Venture Accelerator. Ultimately, the project resulted in the creation of the California Seaweed

Co., which is in active development as an early stage startup. The company seeks to provide a platform for ongoing research and development of seaweed aquaculture and production at scale in order to supply the Southern California market with safe, sustainably produced domestic seafood.