⚡ The state of ocean energy

The International Energy Agency’s ocean program published its annual report for 2025, drawing on activity across 20 member countries. The most notable shift shared is that ocean energy devices are spending more time in the water. Rather than short one-off trials, more projects are moving through repeated cycles of deployment, learning, and redeployment. Grid-connected tidal installations in the UK, China, and the Faroe Islands have now accumulated years of continuous operation, and that track record is what the sector has needed to begin building investor confidence.

The report also captures a broadening of how ocean energy is being applied. Projects are increasingly paired with desalination, hydrogen production, aquaculture, and island microgrids, making them more economically viable in remote coastal settings where energy is expensive to deliver. On the policy side, the EU has formally recognized tidal and wave energy as part of its clean industry strategy, and several countries updated their national plans and permitting rules in 2025 to make it easier to run demonstration projects.

Read the full report here.

🗺️ Mapping the ocean's tidal potential

A new study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society mapped 426 sites across 19 countries where underwater tidal turbines could realistically generate electricity. The technology works much like a wind turbine, only on the seabed, powered by the twice-daily movement of tides. Researchers estimate that the 90 best-studied sites alone could produce around 110 terawatt-hours of electricity per year, roughly equal to Portugal’s annual demand. The countries with the largest resources include the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand, China, and Indonesia.

What makes tidal energy stand out is predictability. Unlike wind or solar, tidal output can be forecast years in advance, making it a reliable complement to weather-dependent renewables. More than half of the global resource sits within just six locations, including the Pentland Firth in Scotland, the Alderney Race between France and the Channel Islands, and Canada’s Bay of Fundy. The UK and France have already committed to installing at least 400 megawatts of tidal capacity over the next decade, and the research gives developers a clearer picture of where the best opportunities lie.

Read the full article here.

🌊 Marisyn's wave-powered data centers

Data centers consumed approximately 4.4% of total U.S. electricity in 2023, with projections indicating a rise to between 6.7% and 12% by 2028, according to a U.S. Department of Energy report. The existing power grid and available land are not built to keep up with that kind of growth. Founded in 2024, Marine Synthesis Inc. (Marisyn) is building an alternative – data centers housed in underwater pods, powered directly by ocean wave energy, and with no grid connection required.

One added benefit of going underwater is cooling. Keeping servers from overheating is one of the biggest energy costs for land-based data centers, but seawater does that job naturally. Waves off U.S. coasts can theoretically generate more than half of the country’s total annual electricity needs, and Marisyn is drawing on over 25 years of accumulated marine energy development to put that resource to work.

Learn more about Marisyn here.

That's it for this week. If you have a story, company, or initiative you'd like to see featured, reach out.

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💶 The Blue Economy Is Attracting More Investors

The European Commission’s BlueInvest Investor Report 2026 maps 159 private funds active in the blue economy in the EU, with around €3 billion coming from funds fully dedicated to the sector and around €11 billion from investors with partial exposure. Venture capital firms make up most of the activity, though private equity and corporate investors are showing growing interest, particularly in areas linked to infrastructure, energy, and decarbonization.

Shipping, shipbuilding, and ports ranked as the most financially attractive sectors among investors surveyed, followed by blue renewable energy, water management, and blue biotechnology. The report notes that later-stage funding remains limited, which can make it harder for companies to scale, and that the blue economy remains underfunded relative to its potential despite the growing momentum.

Read the report.

🌀 AI Is Mapping Ocean Currents by the Hour

Researchers at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography have developed a method called GOFLOW that uses deep learning to measure ocean surface currents in greater detail than existing approaches, using thermal imagery from weather satellites already in orbit. The technique tracks how temperature patterns bend, stretch, and shift from one hour to the next to infer the currents responsible, producing hourly maps where standard satellite methods typically image the same location only once every ten days.

The study, published in Nature Geoscience and co-led by oceanographer Luc Lenain, was tested against shipboard instrument data in the Gulf Stream region and showed strong agreement with established methods while revealing significantly more detail on smaller, faster-moving eddies. Because it relies on existing geostationary satellites, no new hardware is required. Cloud cover remains a current limitation, and the team is working to extend the method globally.

Read the full article.

🌬️ Spotlight on SkyWind Solutions

Keeping to the theme of improved ocean data, SkyWind Solutions is an AI-powered platform built to address a specific blind spot in coastal forecasting. Public tide predictions are based on the gravitational pull of the sun and moon but do not account for local factors like wind, weather, and sea level rise that drive actual coastal water heights. Tide gauges are also widely spaced, sometimes hundreds of miles apart, leaving large stretches of coastline underserved and forcing operators to estimate, which can result in forecast errors of one to three feet, and more during storms.

SkyWind's platform delivers tide predictions customized to a specific location rather than the nearest gauge, using AI models that continuously learn and self-correct over time. Forecasts come with probability ranges that show the spread of likely outcomes, giving operators like ports and offshore construction firms clearer context for decision-making. The company recently received funding from The Continuum Ocean Enterprise Accelerator, backed by NOAA, which it will use to support five to eight pilot forecasting deployments.

Learn more about SkyWind Solutions.

That's it for this week. If you have a story, company, or initiative you'd like to see featured, reach out.

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Plus, a special thanks to Founding Blue for featuring Blue Tide. Founding Blue is an organization based in South Florida uniting tech and marine innovators driving sustainable growth. You can read the interview here.

🛥️ Boat rentals are booming

The global boat rental market was valued at $22.03 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $33.36 billion by 2032, a steady annual growth rate of just over 6%. Growth is being driven by rising marine tourism, increasing recreational activity across all age groups, and growing middle-class disposable income. Digital booking platforms and boat rental apps have also made chartering more accessible to a wider range of travelers.

The luxury segment currently leads by boat class, driven by high-net-worth individuals chartering yachts and premium vessels for leisure and adventure tourism. Fuel-powered boats hold the largest share by propulsion type at 41%, with demand supported by marine events, sport fishing, and motorized water sports. Interest in electric and sailboat rentals is also growing.

Read the report here.

⚖️ Aquaculture most regulated farming industry

A new study from researchers at universities in the United States, United Kingdom, and Finland found that US aquaculture is subject to nearly eight times more federal regulations than livestock farming and nearly three times more than crop farming. It also faces five times more environmental regulations than sectors like beef and lamb, despite having a lower environmental impact.

The researchers identified three reasons for the disparity: aquaculture didn’t fit existing food production frameworks when it emerged, more federal agencies have authority over it than other sectors with little coordination between them, and there is limited political will to address the imbalance. They suggest federal agencies could look at standardizing the regulatory burden across food sectors relative to their actual environmental impact.

Read the full article here. (Contains a link to the study)

🌍 Ocean Hub Africa releases impact report

OceanHub Africa, the Cape Town-based ocean-impact accelerator operating across the continent, has published its first impact report, covering six years of work from 2020 to 2025. Since launch, the portfolio has supported 149 ocean-impact businesses across 43 African countries, with ventures collectively raising over $20 million and creating 1,735 blue jobs. The portfolio has a 90% startup survival rate.

On the environmental side, supported ventures and community programs have diverted 2,440 tonnes of macro-plastic, reduced 3,020 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, and protected or restored 55 hectares of coral reefs and 49 hectares of mangroves. Women make up 75% of direct coastal community beneficiaries and 41% of startup employees across the portfolio.

Read the impact report here.

That's it for this week. If you have a story, company, or initiative you'd like to see featured in a future edition, reach out.

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🎙️ The Natural Justice Podcast launched a series on ocean intelligence

The Natural Justice Podcast brings the stories behind our seafood to you. Through a range of series, it explores the experiences of people working across the seafood sector (fisheries and aquaculture), alongside the environmental laws aimed at protecting our oceans and their resources.

The podcast recently launched its third series, Ocean Intelligence, which dives into the use of technology and AI in the ocean space, from fisheries and aquaculture to other ocean industries such as shipping and mining.

The podcast is produced by Natural Justice, a sustainable seafood advisory founded in 2018. The consultancy works at the intersection of environmental law, science, and policy, supporting seafood producers, NGOs, and governments on sustainability and legal compliance.

Ocean Intelligence surfaces questions that rarely get dedicated airtime, like how AI tools are being adopted in practice, what the legal and data implications look like, and where the gaps remain.

Listen here.

🌿 Seaweed Greens is turning sargassum into a soil input

Sargassum has shifted from a seasonal nuisance to a persistent crisis, especially across the Caribbean. By mid-2025, satellite tracking put the volume drifting across the region at over 37 million tons, with San Pedro, Belize alone removing over 100 tons in a single week.

Most of the current conversation remains centered on disposal or energy, which misses the long-term opportunity. Florida-based Seaweed Greens doesn’t approach sargassum as waste or an energy input. Their focus has been on rapid transformation, removing salt, sand, plastics, bacteria, and heavy metals including arsenic in under ten days, so it can be safely reintroduced into biological systems like permaculture and soil regeneration.

The company can process sargassum at scale, 100 tons a day, and has the engineering background to turn this massive inundation into useful outputs like fertilizer.

The timing adds another dimension. Around a third of global seaborne fertilizer trade typically passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been nearly entirely closed since late February, sending prices sharply higher at the start of planting season. A domestic source of soil amendment, produced from material currently treated as a liability, could offer more supply chain resilience.

Learn more.

🌊 Reciprocal's Upwell program is bridging ocean startups with industry in Latin America

Reciprocal is a Latin American climate venture platform that builds, invests in, and supports startups with positive environmental impact across the region. One of its programs, Upwell, is designed to move ocean innovation startups in Latin America and the Caribbean past the hardest commercialization step, real-world deployment.

Over 80% of ocean accelerators operate out of the Global North, and ocean startups in the region typically lack routes to the corporate partners they need. Latin America and the Caribbean, with significant cost advantages in early-stage R&D and ocean-based economic activity generating over US$400 billion annually in the Caribbean alone, is a compelling place to close that gap.

The program targets startups with early technical validation who need structured industry access to move from prototype to pilot. Reciprocal works with industry partners to define deployment challenges, match startups to relevant partners, and provide commercial and technical readiness support throughout.

Upwell is part of a broader pattern worth watching. From the Nordics to Southeast Asia, ocean-focused acceleration and deployment programs are multiplying, each shaped by the coastal and maritime realities of their region.

Learn more.

That's it for this week. If you have a story, company, or initiative you'd like to see featured in a future edition, reach out, always love to hear what's happening in the space.

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📊 NOAA data reveals an ocean economy adding jobs and wages

NOAA has released a new ocean economy dataset and the numbers make for encouraging reading. From 2021 to 2024, the U.S. marine economy recovered by adding over 500,000 jobs, with total wages across the industry growing by 32%.

The sector now employs approximately 3.7 million people. Tourism and recreation leads the way, accounting for 2.6 million of those jobs, while marine transportation, ship and boat building, offshore mineral resources, and marine construction round out the largest contributors. Florida, California, and New York are home to the most marine economy workers.

Headline job numbers are one thing, but the wage growth figure also stands out. A 32% increase in total wages over three years signals that the marine economy isn't just growing in headcount, but maturing into an industry that can compete for talent. That's meaningful for the long-term credibility of ocean-focused careers and investment.

Learn more.

🌍 Global Fishing Watch has mapped the entire industrial fishing fleet for the first time

Global Fishing Watch released its 2025 Annual Report, marking what the organization is calling a landmark year for ocean transparency. For the first time, the nonprofit has mapped 100% of the global industrial fishing fleet using satellite imagery, machine learning, and vessel tracking data — covering more than 70 million square kilometers of ocean.

New tools allow authorities to track up to 1,000 vessels simultaneously, cross-reference ships against illegal fishing lists, and flag suspicious tracking gaps. The platform has also expanded into emerging industries. In December, the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory launched Deep-Sea Mining Watch, an open-access portal powered by Global Fishing Watch technology that tracks vessels involved in deep-sea mineral exploration.

The gap between illegal fishing and solutions has mostly been visibility, you can’t enforce what you can’t see. What Global Fishing Watch is building is data infrastructure that makes enforcement, accountability, and smarter ocean governance possible. The innovation opportunity for anyone building in this space is huge.

Learn more.

🇫🇮 A'Pelago Initiative 2026 is bringing the blue economy to Finland

A’Pelago, the Baltic Sea’s leading blue economy ecosystem, is hosting its fourth annual A’Pelago Initiative on August 19–20, 2026 at Ruissalon Boatyard in Turku, Finland. The theme this year is We are the Ocean, with programming focused on two main threads: From Ocean Literacy to Action, and From Funding Gap to Innovative Solutions.

Over 300 entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, NGOs, and innovators are expected to attend across the two days. Day one builds a shared foundation across sectors, while day two is investor-focused — featuring keynotes, a startup pitch competition across sectors (including Marine Biomaterials, Blue Food & Cosmetics, Ocean Resilience, Ocean Data & Tech, and Maritime Solutions), and panels centered on moving blue economy ideas from pilot to scale. Early Bird tickets are available.

A’Pelago has grown into an impactful blue economy catalyst, running accelerator programs and connecting Baltic Sea startups with Nordic and global capital. The blue economy has no shortage of ideas, what it often lacks is space for those ideas to meet the capital needed to scale. That’s what this event is built for.

Learn more.

That's it for this week. If you have a story, company, or initiative you'd like to see featured in a future edition, reach out, always love to hear what's happening in the space.

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📈 The blue economy financial index outperforming the S&P 500

While broader markets have had a choppy start to 2026, a blue economy-focused financial index is riding a wave of growth, outpacing the S&P 500.

The Blue Economy Index ($BLUEECO), created by the University of North Carolina Wilmington and tracked on the Bloomberg Terminal, measures the performance of top companies operating sustainably in ocean and waterway sectors.

Ocean tech has struggled to attract the institutional capital that flows freely into other sectors like AI and cleantech, partly because the asset class has lacked the benchmarks and visibility that investors need to feel confident.

A dedicated financial index helps change that. It creates a trackable, comparable entry point, and when it outperforms, it makes investors notice. Worth watching closely as more capital looks for credible ocean-aligned vehicles.

Learn more.

🐟 Illegal fishing drains $23.5bn from the global economy every year

At the World Ocean Summit in Montreal last week, it was reported that roughly a third of the seafood on our plates comes from illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing, a practice that drains ~$23.5bn from the legal economy annually.

The message shared was clear — without stronger monitoring, legal enforcement, and financing mechanisms, commitments to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030 will remain just that, commitments.

Papua New Guinea's Minister for Fisheries shared that it’s “easier to pinpoint someone in Tehran and bomb them” than it is to monitor our own ocean. That’s a striking statement to make.

Hopefully this changes with the rapid growth in new ocean technologies being built.

Learn more.

👨🏻‍🏭 Saronic is building autonomous vessels faster than anyone expected

Texas-based Saronic Technologies is building autonomous surface vessels, and doing it at a pace that’s drawing attention well beyond the defense sector.

In December, the US Navy awarded Saronic a $392 million production contract for its Corsair autonomous surface vessel. Secretary of the Navy John Phelan noted that Saronic went from prototype to production in under a year, a timeline that stands in sharp contrast to the procurement cycles the defense industry is typically known for.

Meanwhile, at Saronic’s shipyard in Louisiana, two Marauder vessels — larger, 150-foot platforms designed for extended range and heavy payload — are nearing completion, having gone from initial design to full vessel development in six months. A third is already underway.

Saronic’s vessels are built to operate without a crew, launching from ships or smaller craft, navigating independently, and configured for what the mission demands.

Fast-built, autonomous, scalable maritime platforms have implications that stretch well beyond defense. Monitoring vast ocean territories to catch illegal fishing, as mentioned in the previous story, is exactly the kind of problem they could help solve.

Learn more.

That's it for this week. I recently started working part-time with clients in ocean tech, focused on building brand awareness through content and social media. If you're interested in working together, book a call, it would be great to connect.

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Until now, I’ve written when inspiration struck. But going forward, Blue Tide will publish weekly and feature three spotlights on companies, studies, or ideas worth your attention.

My goal is to build a hub for anyone who wants to follow, understand, and champion what's happening in ocean tech.

A housekeeping note: The newsletter has moved from Beehiiv to Substack. Happy to talk through why with anyone curious.

All that said, I’m so glad you’re here for this next chapter! Let’s get into it.

🦾 The Offshore Wind Turbine Doubling as a Data Center

AI needs enormous amounts of energy, and finding space and power for data centers is becoming one of tech’s biggest challenges. San Francisco startup Aikido Technologies has a bold answer: build data centers inside the submerged pods of floating offshore wind turbines, using cold ocean water for cooling and wind above for power. A proof-of-concept is already in development in Norway, scheduled for deployment later this year.

It's an idea that addresses two of the most pressing infrastructure challenges of our time at once — AI compute demand and clean energy. It points to exactly the kind of lateral thinking that ocean tech does best.

Learn more about the company.

🚢 Can AI Decarbonize Global Shipping and Save Millions in Fuel Costs?

Shipping is the circulatory system of global commerce, and one of the hardest industries to modernize. A new peer-reviewed study in MDPI Sustainability examines how AI is being applied across voyage optimization, wind-assisted propulsion, vessel automation, port coordination, predictive maintenance, ship design, and hull maintenance robotics to reduce both emissions and operational costs.

It further addresses AI’s own energy demands and argues the industry must account transparently for the computing costs behind these technologies before claiming a win.

Read the full study.

🪸 Ocean Restoration Ecosystem Map

Most people know ocean restoration is important, fewer know just how many people are working on it. A new mapping project by inClimate has identified 380 ocean restoration companies operating across 60 countries, from coral gardeners in French Polynesia to oyster reef builders in New York Harbor, spanning reef restoration, kelp forest recovery, seagrass protection, and mangrove conservation.

Technology is also reshaping what restoration looks like in practice — biorock structures, 3D-printed reef habitats, and AI-powered coral monitoring among them. As these natural ecosystems begin to be recognized as critical infrastructure rather than simply conservation projects, the case for scaling and funding them only gets stronger.

If you know someone working in this space who isn’t on the dashboard, let the inClimate team know. See the full list.

Thanks for reading Blue Tide! If you come across any interesting stories, send them my way. If you or someone you know would like to be featured, please reach out.

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This area of opportunity was front of mind at a recent event hosted by the Office of Ocean Economy at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale.

The Office of Ocean Economy from Florida Atlantic University is a state-supported initiative designed to connect universities, government, and industry around marine innovation.

At this event, they invited the innovation team from the Port of Ashdod in Israel to share what they’ve built.

Ashdod operates a $55M innovation fund and physically houses startups at the port itself. Founders don’t just get capital, they get access to live infrastructure, operators, and logistics systems. In other words, real-world testing conditions.

Most of the startups presenting focused on port security:

• Salvador Technologies is working on cyber recovery for operational systems.

• Azimut is developing AI-powered maritime domain awareness.

• Airwayz is building autonomous airspace management systems — which feels particularly relevant after recent airspace disruptions in El Paso, Texas.

Other companies are focused on improving efficiency and visibility across port operations that reduce delays, optimize traffic flows, and strengthen resilience.

Startups presenting at a recent event hosted by Office of Ocean Economy.

Shipping and ports have attracted nearly $7B in venture funding since 2016, making it one of the most funded segments in the blue economy. Funding peaked in 2022 at $2.6B following pandemic-era supply chain chaos, but then fell sharply.

Most of that capital hasn’t flowed into ports themselves. It’s gone to platforms sitting around them like digital freight forwarders, visibility platforms, and voyage optimization players.

Ports, by contrast, have largely remained fixed infrastructure. That’s what makes the Ashdod model interesting. And it turns out they’re not alone:

🇳🇱 The Port of Rotterdam has been running PortXL, a maritime accelerator that connects startups directly with port operators and corporate partners to test decarbonization, logistics digitization, and efficiency solutions inside live operations.

🇸🇬 In Asia, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore runs PIER71 and the Smart Port Challenge, a global call for startups to solve real port and maritime problems, with structured access to port stakeholders and infrastructure.

🇺🇸 In the USA, the Port of San Diego launched its Blue Economy Incubator back in 2016. Rather than focusing purely on cargo optimization, it has funded and piloted technologies across coastal resilience, environmental monitoring, aquaculture, and clean maritime systems.

Each port’s model looks slightly different. But the pattern is the same – instead of waiting for innovation to arrive as a vendor pitch, they’re actively creating space for it.

Ports already anchor thousands of jobs, including logistics, customs, and maritime operations. But when they start embedding startups and testing new technologies, you layer in cybersecurity, robotics, AI, drone systems, emissions analytics, and data engineering.

They’re natural innovation platforms when the right connections are in place. Ports can evolve from static gateways for goods to becoming platforms that generate new companies, skill sets, and economic clusters.

Thanks for reading Blue Tide. As always, I’d love to hear what you think about what was covered in this edition.

🟦 Zané

And can you guess the main reason highlighted by every company I spoke to? Maintenance.

The rule in boating is that you need to budget at least 10% of your boat’s value each year for maintenance. For most recreational boats in North America, that means $5,000–$8,000.

That would include oil changes, engine servicing, fuel system issues, and the constant upkeep gas engines demand.

A lot of those costs are drastically reduced or practically eliminated when switching to electric propulsion.

People buy recreational boats to relax. The last thing they want is to spend weekends dealing with engine problems or unexpected repair bills.

Then there are the added benefits: no harmful fumes around you and your loved ones, and almost no noise so you can cruise in peace.

(I’m sure people who live close to the water won’t mind that shift either.)

Who knew so many boats could fit into the Miami Beach Convention Centre?

I’ve never been to the Miami Boat Show, but given my interest in the blue economy I thought this was the year to walk around and see where this industry is heading.

Being based in Miami I know this shouldn’t surprise me — but boating is BIG.

The industry was valued at $30.8 billion globally in 2025 and is expected to keep growing as boats become more accessible and new technologies lower barriers to entry.

One of those technologies is electrification. At the show, these three companies working on this stood out to me:

E-Force Marine

E-Force is developing Miami’s first all-electric boat, the Aurora e30, a 30-foot electric catamaran designed for efficiency and performance.

Beyond propulsion systems, they’re incorporating advanced manufacturing techniques like large-scale 3D printing into their build process. That has the potential to reduce production costs and iterate designs faster, something the traditional boatbuilding world isn’t exactly known for.

If they execute well, E-Force could create electric boats that won’t just be cleaner but also built faster and smarter.

E-Force Marine’s Aurora.

Flux Marine

Flux recently raised $15M and is focused primarily on electric propulsion systems rather than building complete boats.

They partner with established hull manufacturers and retrofit or integrate high-performance electric outboards. So instead of convincing customers to adopt an entirely new boat brand, they can upgrade what already exists.

It’s a good reminder that sometimes the biggest shifts in an industry don’t come from replacing everything but from upgrading the core component that matters most.

Flux Marine production launch.

Tewa Moto

Tewa is taking electrification into the high-performance adventure space with an electric jet ski.

Performance water sports have traditionally been loud, fuel-heavy, and maintenance-intensive. Tewa is betting that riders will value instant torque, reduced upkeep, and a cleaner experience without sacrificing thrill.

If electric power sports can deliver the same adrenaline with less hassle, that’s a compelling value proposition, especially in coastal cities where noise and emissions are increasingly scrutinized.

Tewa Moto’s jet boat.

For now, there’s still work to be done before we’ll see mass adoption of electric boats.

Consumers need more education. Charging infrastructure needs to expand. Range anxiety is real. And the upfront costs can still be higher.

But the technology is improving quickly. Batteries are getting better. Manufacturing is evolving. And the maintenance argument is hard to ignore.

I don’t think gas boats are disappearing anytime soon, but after walking the Miami Boat Show it’s clear that electrification is no longer experimental and demand is growing.

Thanks for reading Blue Tide. As always, I’d love to hear what you think about what was covered in this edition.

🟦 Zané

SOA empowers young leaders, invests in and accelerates ocean innovations, and drives global action to restore ocean health, build a sustainable blue economy, and protect the planet’s future.

Their Ecopreneur Network supports pre-seed to Series A companies with market-driven innovations that restore our oceans’ health.

The key theme I noticed from the presentations: these solutions don’t just help the ocean, they solve real pain points for industries, with some of the startups already cash-flow positive.

Here are the 10 companies who showcased:

INVERSA removes harmful invasive species like lionfish to help restore ecosystems, then turns those species into high-quality leathers that can be used in existing supply chains in the fashion industry. This approach helps protect biodiversity while creating useful products instead of waste.

INVERSA Lionfish leather.

Dispatch Goods helps brands switch from single-use to reusable packaging by managing everything needed to make it work, from returns and cleaning to supplying the packaging. This lowers packaging costs, improves the customer experience, and keeps millions of packages out of landfills.

PierSight uses radar satellites to continuously track human activity and vessels at sea, giving a real-time picture of what’s happening across the oceans. This data helps industries like shipping, insurance, defense, and energy monitor, manage, and secure maritime operations.

Bound4Blue builds automated wind-powered sails for ships that help shipowners cut fuel use and emissions. The system installs easily on existing vessels, runs autonomously with little maintenance, and lowers operating costs by using wind to assist propulsion. Some of their clients include Maersk Tankers, Eastern Pacific Shipping, and Odfjell.

Bound4Blue eSAIL® on ship.

Ace Aquatec builds technology for fish farms that improves animal welfare and operational efficiency, from humane fish stunning to sea lice removal and monitoring systems. Their tools help aquaculture operations run more sustainably and responsibly.

DisperseBio stops biofouling—slime and organism buildup—on surfaces like ships and pipes using a nature-inspired solution that doesn’t rely on toxic chemicals. Instead of killing microbes, their technology prevents buildup from forming in the first place, making it safer for the environment and more cost-effective than traditional methods.

Oneka produces freshwater from seawater using the power of ocean waves, without relying on fossil fuels or the electrical grid. Their floating systems provide a low-impact, scalable way for coastal communities and industries to access clean water while protecting marine life.

Marblis Primitives designs new bio-based materials that tackle environmental problems and help restore ecosystems, currently using invasive sea urchins as a key input. Their products, including stone-like surfaces for buildings, are engineered to work with natural systems while meeting modern design and performance needs.

Marblis Urchinite, made from a natural mineral in purple sea urchin shells.

Hohonu provides accurate water-level monitoring and flood forecasts so communities can better prepare for and respond to floods. Using advanced sensors and data analysis, they turn water data into actionable insights to help protect people and manage climate risks.

Carbon Ridge helps ships cut carbon emissions by capturing and storing CO₂ directly onboard. Their solution offers a cost-effective way for the maritime industry to reduce its greenhouse gas impact.

These startups are proof that saving the ocean and building a thriving blue economy don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Each one addresses real-world challenges while creating measurable impact for both industry and the planet.

🟦 Thanks for reading Blue Tide! If there are upcoming events, webinars, or ocean-focused innovations you think we should cover, reach out and let me know.

A study published in Cell Reports Sustainability found that mangroves prevented about $4.75 billion in damages during hurricanes Irma and Ian in southwest Florida alone. And in one modeled county, they reduce storm surge damages by around $67 million yearly.

The researchers used high-resolution flood and economic loss models combined with detailed mangrove coverage data to quantify the difference mangroves make during extreme storms.

The results show areas protected by mangroves experience significantly less flooding than those without them during events like Hurricane Ian, as can be seen in the image below.

Flood damage with and without mangroves during Hurricane Ian.

Florida is an ideal case study for this kind of analysis. It has a long, exposed coastline, faces tropical storms almost every year, and is home to some of the most valuable coastal real estate in the U.S.

Flood risk here directly shapes insurance availability, property values, and public spending.

If you’re searching for property in Miami, for example, real estate platforms prominently display flood risk data. That information can determine whether a home is insurable at all, and it has a direct impact on pricing.

For local governments, this translates into fiscal exposure when storms hit.

Flood zone info from real estate site Compass.

We’ve known for years that nature-based solutions like mangroves reduce flooding. What’s changed is our ability to measure their impact with precision.

Advances in modeling now make it possible to attach concrete dollar values to ecosystem protection — data that policymakers, insurers, and investors can act on.

And this makes securing funding for restoration and protection efforts easier than in the past.

Organizations like the following are already pushing mangroves as a frontline solution:

The Global Mangrove Alliance was launched at the World Ocean Summit in 2018 and brings together NGOs, governments, scientists, industry, and local communities around the shared goal of conserving and restoring mangrove ecosystems worldwide. They play a critical role in coordination and agenda-setting.

Nabat, a technology company based in the UAE, uses AI and autonomous drones to plant and monitor mangroves at scale. Spun out of VentureOne, the commercialization arm of Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council, they’re a compelling example of how tech can accelerate environmental restoration.

Drone from Nabat’s website.

At the local level, organizations like Miami Water Keeper do the on-the-ground work that makes resilience tangible. Their efforts to protect South Florida’s waters include defending and restoring mangrove ecosystems that directly shield communities from flooding.

It’s this combination of organizations at different levels – global coordination, technological execution, and local stewardship – that turns restoration from isolated projects into durable coastal resilience, capable of delivering measurable protection at scale.

Mangroves in South Florida.

Flood protection isn’t the only benefit mangroves provide. They create critical wildlife habitat, improve water quality through natural filtration, and capture large amounts of carbon.

And markets already exist for companies to purchase carbon credits from mangrove restoration projects, with major buyers including Microsoft and Shell — a signal that these ecosystems are increasingly recognized as investable climate infrastructure.

As flood risks intensify, data like that from the study helps shift mangroves from “nice-to-have” conservation projects to essential public infrastructure, influencing how governments plan coastal budgets, how insurers price risk, and how capital flows into adaptation.

Here are some resources for those who want to dig deeper. It covers restoration costs, large-scale deployment, and global coordination:

1. How much does it cost to restore a mangrove forest? Article in Mongabay.

2. How drone technology is helping plant 100 million mangrove trees in the UAE by 2030. Video by New Scientist.

3. Global Mangrove Alliance Knowledge Hub. Research and collaboration resources.

Happy New Year! I’m excited to see how the blue economy continues to evolve in 2026. As always, if there’s anything you’d like to see featured or if you’d just like to talk, reply to this email.

🌱 Zané

As industries like clean energy, subsea infrastructure, critical minerals, and marine science expand, AUVs are becoming a foundational layer of how we see, understand, and operate in the deep ocean.

The article traces a century of deep-sea exploration, from the Bathysphere and the Trieste to hydrothermal vents and modern robotic systems, and asks a bigger question: How do we move from one-off expeditions to continuous, scalable access to the deep ocean?

Timeline of deep ocean exploration.

99.999% of the seafloor remains unseen.

If we can’t see the seafloor at scale, we can’t protect it, manage it, or build on it responsibly.

Read the full article here.

I have one more edition lined up for Blue Tide this year and then I’m heading to Patagonia for a hiking trip! As always, thank you for reading. I’m planning to do more interview content in 2026, so if you or someone you know would like to be featured please reach out.

🪼 Zané

In this edition of Blue Tide I’ll highlight success stories from different corners of the blue economy, including autonomous systems, biotech, infrastructure, ocean intelligence, and restoration.

📆 At the end, you’ll find a 2026 blue economy conference calendar I’ve been building to help plan for next year.

Saildrone: Maritime Autonomous Systems

Saildrone vehicle.

Saildrone designs wind- and solar-powered autonomous surface vehicles that can travel for months at sea, collecting high-resolution ocean data in places that are often too dangerous or expensive to reach.

Their vehicles have logged more than a million nautical miles and even sailed into a Category 4 hurricane to gather storm-core data.

A big part of their success comes from the breadth of their use cases, which includes climate modeling, carbon monitoring, fisheries management, and naval operations.

Lockheed Martin recently invested $50 million to arm Saildrone’s uncrewed surface vessels for U.S. Navy missions. Saildrone’s platforms are already used for maritime domain awareness tasks like tracking illegal fishing and drug trafficking, while the same technology continues to serve scientists, shipping companies, and weather agencies.

Saildrone shows what dual-use technology looks like in practice.

Kerecis: Fish Skin for Tissue Regeneration

Kerecis intact fish skin grafts used in the operating room.

One of the most commercially successful ocean-biotech companies to date, Kerecis turns intact fish skin into medical grafts used for chronic wounds and tissue regeneration.

The material is biocompatible, reduces inflammation, and avoids the regulatory and ethical hurdles that come with mammalian-derived grafts.

In 2023, medical-device giant Coloplast acquired the company for up to $1.3 billion (with $1.2 billion upfront and another $100 million potential earn-out).

For an ocean-derived biomaterial to reach that scale and level of demand is a powerful case study for what blue biotech can become.

Philly Shipyard: Maritime Ship Building

Philly Shipyard.

While not a startup in the traditional sense, Philly Shipyard shows how legacy maritime infrastructure can transform with the right investment.

South Korea’s Hanwha Group recently purchased the yard through a broader U.S.–Korea industrial agreement and committed $5 billion to overhaul the facility.

That investment is going into robotic welding, smart manufacturing systems, automated assembly, and the kind of digital infrastructure that could re-establish a modern commercial shipbuilding base in the U.S.

This kind of industrial modernization is a critical, but sometimes overlooked, piece of the blue-economy story.

Sofar Oceans: Ocean Intelligence

Sofar Ocean map of weather sensors.

In ocean data, few companies have built both scale and commercial demand as convincingly as Sofar Ocean.

Sofar Ocean operates one of the world’s largest networks of smart buoys, paired with a global forecasting model that delivers real-time ocean and weather intelligence.

Their data is used by commercial shipping fleets, offshore energy developers, scientists, and coastal planners.

They raised a $39 million Series B to expand this system further.

Sofar shows how ocean data can be both commercially valuable — improving routing efficiency, lowering emissions, reducing risk — and publicly valuable, strengthening our understanding of the planet.

Coral Vita: Coral Restoration

Coral Vita founders.

Coral Vita has become one of the strongest examples of what happens when ecosystem restoration meets a scalable business model.

Coral Vita grows more resilient corals in on-land nurseries and restores degraded reefs in partnership with governments, communities, and developers.

Their assisted-evolution corals survive heat stress better, giving reef systems a fighting chance in a warming ocean.

They raised an $8 million Series A led by Builders Vision.

Unlike many restoration groups, Coral Vita is structured as a for-profit company, showing how ecosystem restoration can scale when it’s paired with the right business model.

2026 Blue Economy Conferences

I’ve been building a calendar of blue economy conferences for 2026 and thought it would be worth sharing for others who could find it helpful.

This is a living document so new events will be added throughout the year. I’m sure there are many that I’m missing, so please reach out if you know of any to add.

Conference Calendar

As always, thank you for reading Blue Tide. These stories show what happens when ocean innovation meets real demand. The market is widening, the use cases are multiplying, and the momentum is real.

🐬 Zané

Marine energy, generated from the natural movement of water (currents, waves, tides), is predictable and reliable, unlike wind and solar.

Even capturing a fraction of that potential could reshape national energy systems, in the U.S. and around the world.

Where are the top locations? A study by Florida Atlantic University found that east Florida and South Africa consistently show power densities above 2,500 watts per square meter. For context, that’s about 2.5 times higher than what’s considered an excellent wind resource.

(Funny coincidence, South Africa is where I grew up and Florida is where I live now!)

In my previous newsletter, I wrote about how more funding, tax credits, and policy are contributing to the momentum of marine energy in the U.S., with a focus on what it would mean for national energy security.

There are also other advantages. Because these systems often sit in or under the water, they don’t compete for land or obstruct views, and they can directly power blue economy infrastructure, from ocean sensors and desalination to offshore computing.

But marine energy is still behind wind and solar on cost curves because it hasn’t had the same investment runway. Plus, the ocean is a brutally unforgiving place to test early prototypes. And we still need more research on potential impacts to marine life.

It has to be developed with the ecosystem, not at the expense of it.

I spoke to former NOAA Senior Environmental Scientist Adriana C. Bejarano, a Climatebase fellow with me, who shared, “The development of a blue economy must be matched with responsibility. Just as in spill preparedness and response, anticipating and managing risks to the marine environment before they arise is essential. Responsible development means advancing the blue economy while safeguarding the ocean that makes it all possible.”

Our understanding of the impacts is still evolving, and I’m motivated by the many studies looking at how to mitigate our impacts, like this OES-Environmental 2024 State of the Science Report on Tethys, a knowledge hub about environmental effects of marine and wind energy.

So what does marine energy look like in practice? Here are three companies turning ocean motion into power:

🌊 Eco Wave Power

Eco Wave Power places floaters on existing marine structures like breakwaters and port walls, and as the floaters move with the waves, hydraulic pressure generates electricity on land.

This opens the door to creating greener ports that generate their own electricity. They’ve already installed the first onshore wave energy project in the Port of Los Angeles.

Eco Wave Power floaters.

🌊 Panthalassa

Panthalassa is harnessing ocean energy out in deep water to produce cheap, clean power and use it to run compute at sea (yes, powering AI with ocean energy). They also plan to produce renewable fuels and bring them back to shore.

This quote by Arthur C. Clarke on their website speaks to the potential of what they’re building, ”How inappropriate to call this planet Earth, when it is clearly Ocean.”

Panthalassa tech in the open ocean.

🌊 Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC)

ORPC focuses on free-flowing rivers and tidal currents with underwater systems that quietly generate electricity.

My favorite case study is with Alaskan village Igiugig, which used to rely almost entirely on diesel, an expensive and polluting power source. With tidal energy being generated in their nearby river the community’s diesel use dropped by 60–90%, saving costs and avoiding air pollutants.

The project has been running for three years now, withstanding the brutally cold winters and having no impact on the local salmon population.

Bird’s eye view of an ORPC device.

I believe the future of renewable energy will include multiple sources like wind, solar, geothermal, and more, but that marine energy will start taking up a much bigger part of the pie.

The ocean covers 70% of our planet.
It’s constantly in motion.
And now we’re building the tools to tap into that power responsibly.

Thanks for reading Blue Tide. Because I’m based in the U.S., and specifically Florida, you’ll often see the newsletter view stories through this lens and highlight opportunities from the region. There’s so much happening in the ecosystem, and I’m excited to share it with you.

🦈 Zané

Some snaps from One Ocean Week and Blue Economy Investment Summit.

🤝 Collaboration is the superpower behind blue economy innovation.

I’ve never seen this level of collaboration in an industry before. Private companies, government agencies, universities, nonprofits, global diplomatic partners, and investors are working hand in hand to move the industry forward.

And it’s not just regional. Initiatives like 1000 Ocean Startups unite members around the world to fund at least 1,000 ocean-focused startups by 2030.

The phrase “a rising tide lifts all boats” clearly sits close to the heart of many people in the industry.

🌊 We’re entering the era of marine energy, and the tailwinds are strong.

Marine energy (wave and tidal) is having a real moment, especially in the U.S., where funding that once flowed into solar and wind is being redirected toward marine energy.

Unlike other renewables, marine energy is highly predictable and reliable. That predictability is why the current U.S. administration included dedicated funding and tax credits tied to what marine energy could mean for national energy security.

And the industry is reaching a research and development phase where costs can drop, meaning it could soon compete with the traditional grid.

🚢 The U.S. is constantly competing with China, and the maritime sector is part of that race.

The Big Beautiful Bill authorizes almost $2B to revive shipbuilding in the U.S., posing a huge opportunity for those seeking federal funding.

But many are skeptical and see the time horizon for this to play out at a minimum of 10 years. Because of labor costs it’s much more expensive to build a ship in the U.S. versus China, who currently dominates the industry.

The U.S. no longer has the skilled workforce (like welders) required for large-scale shipbuilding, so rebuilding that talent pipeline would require extensive training.

This theme also came up in a panel comparing fish processing between the U.S. and China. Currently, most fish caught in Alaska are shipped to China for processing before making their way back to U.S. shelves because labor is so much cheaper.

💸 The U.S. and Europe view blue economy investment differently.

A team member from Hatch Blue (European-based VC) pointed out that in the U.S., the blue economy is often viewed primarily through an impact lens, something philanthropic or mission-driven. In Europe, it’s increasingly viewed as an economic engine that also delivers positive impact.

That difference in mindset matters. Today, less than 1% of global funding goes to the ocean, despite research showing that every $1 invested generates $5 in economic returns over time.

🦞 A deeper respect for fishing communities and working waterfronts.

Whether in Maine (lobster) or Alaska (salmon), fishing is industry, identity, heritage, and community. And this way of life is under threat.

The Gulf of Maine is warming three times faster than the global average. Fish stocks are shifting north into Canada for colder water or farther offshore where harvesting becomes more difficult and more dangerous. Storms are intensifying, putting fishermen’s lives on the line.

Coastal cities are also balancing development pressures with the need to maintain working waterfronts, spaces that allow fishermen to keep doing what their families have done for generations.

I’ll be diving deeper into most of these themes in future Blue Tide issues. If you know a founder, researcher, fisherman, or policymaker working on any of these, please reach out, it would be great to connect.

Also, vote in the poll below and let me know which topic you’d like to read more about next.

Which topic should I dig into next?

• How innovation clusters get built

• The rise of marine energy

• U.S. maritime strategy + investment

• The future of fishing communities

Login or Subscribe to participate

🦭 Zané

I asked A’Pelago’s Matilda Gustafsson, who leads Marketing & Communications, about the importance of the blue economy in the region, what she’s most excited about in the industry, and more.

Matilda Gustafsson, A’Pelago Marketing & Communications

What makes Finland uniquely positioned to lead in the blue economy?

Matilda: Finland is uniquely positioned thanks to its strong connection to the Baltic Sea and vast archipelago, which serve as ideal living labs for sustainable marine innovation.

The country combines world-class research institutions with a growing ecosystem of startups, investors, and public actors working together through A’Pelago’s Ecosystem.

Finnish culture’s deep-rooted respect for nature and trust in science foster collaboration and responsible innovation.

With advanced marine technology, strong sustainability policies, and a proactive approach to solving environmental challenges, Finland offers scalable solutions for seas worldwide.

Why does the Baltic Sea region need this kind of focus and investment right now? 

Matilda: The Baltic Sea region urgently needs focus and investment because it’s one of the world’s most polluted and fragile marine areas, suffering from eutrophication, biodiversity loss, and climate impacts.

Despite the ocean’s crucial role in regulating our planet, only a tiny fraction of global investment (actually less than 1% of climate finance) goes toward ocean-related solutions. This financial gap is especially critical in the Baltic, where local action can have a rapid, measurable impact.

By directing more resources to innovation, restoration, and sustainable business, the region can become a global example of how to revive marine environments while driving economic growth.

One highlight at the A’Pelago Initiative 2025 was the launch of Redstone Nordics’ new €25 million fund dedicated to supporting startups tackling ocean challenges, with a strong focus on the Baltic Sea. The fund will be headquartered in the Blue Economy Centre, Turku, with the City of Turku and private investors as anchor investors.

How does A’Pelago decide which projects or founders to back?

Matilda: A’Pelago supports projects and founders who combine strong science-based ideas with clear potential for real-world impact in the blue economy.

The focus is on solutions that can be tested and scaled in the Baltic Sea region, spanning areas like marine restoration, sustainable materials, clean technologies, and circular business models.

Founders who are engaged in or passionate about blue economy investing are warmly invited to join the A’Pelago Initiative event. The 2025 forum hosted over 50 investors from across Europe, creating unmatched opportunities for connection and collaboration.

Through its accelerator and ecosystem, A’Pelago looks for people and ideas that can bridge research, entrepreneurship, and practical implementation to create measurable benefits for the sea and society.

A’Pelago team.

What part of the blue economy are you most excited about and why?

Matilda: Strengthening awareness and education around the blue economy, especially through initiatives like the A’Pelago Blue Economy Academy.

Sharing knowledge with students and the next generation is essential for building long-term impact and inspiring future innovators.

I’m motivated by the idea of helping position Finland as a leading driver of the blue economy by spreading the message, connecting people, and turning complex sustainability topics into something engaging and actionable.

Empowering others to see the opportunities in restoring and reimagining our relationship with the sea feels incredibly meaningful to me.

For founders reading this, what advice would you give to someone building in this space?

Matilda: Stay deeply connected to both science and real-world needs. Test your ideas in living labs like the Baltic Sea region but also think about how they can scale globally. 

Collaboration is key. Work with researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, and local communities to strengthen your impact.

Be patient and persistent, because marine innovation often requires longer development cycles, but the rewards (for both the environment and society) are immense.

And finally, don’t underestimate the power of sharing your story: inspiring others is just as important as building your solution. Join our Blue Economy Ecosystem platform Blue Connect and share your journey!

A’Pelago recently held their annual Blue Economy Forum, A’Pelago Initiative, what was your biggest takeaway this year?

Matilda: My biggest takeaway from A’Pelago Initiative 2025 was seeing the scale, energy, and collaboration within the Baltic Sea blue economy community.

With over 300 participants from 13 countries, the event highlighted both the urgency of restoring the Baltic Sea and the exciting potential for innovation and investment in the region.

Launches like the Redstone BLUE fund and the Pitch Challenge winner Reverlast, showed that practical, scalable solutions are already emerging.

I was especially inspired by how the forum combined cutting-edge science, entrepreneurship, and finance while also emphasizing wellbeing through initiatives like the Decelerator.

Overall, it reinforced that Finland and the Baltic region are at the forefront of driving the blue economy globally.

Finally, what’s next for A’Pelago, anything coming up that we should keep an eye on? 

Matilda: We’re currently accepting applications for the 2026 first Nordic Blue Economy Accelerator program, which will support startups in turning innovative ideas into scalable solutions. 

In addition, the Decelerator retreat will take place on November 6–7, providing entrepreneurs with space, mentoring, and tools to recharge and sustain their impact.

At the same time, we’re moving into our new Blue Economy Centre in Turku at the beginning of November, which will serve as a hub for research, innovation, and collaboration in the Baltic Sea region.

The Blue Economy Centre in Turku, Finland.

🇫🇮🇫🇮 If you’d like to join the A’Pelago Initiative 2026, visit here for Early Bird tickets 🇫🇮🇫🇮

Thanks for reading Blue Tide! If you have a good idea of who to interview next, then please reach out.

🐚 Zané

How do we know? Because sea surface temperatures in the Pacific have been cooling, pointing to a 71% chance of La Niña conditions forming.

La Niña is a climate phenomenon involving unusually cool surface waters in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. When these conditions take hold, they often bring colder weather to the northern U.S., meaning more demand for heating and higher energy use.

Just as important, it rules out the possibility of an El Niño, the warmer counterpart, which tends to bring milder weather, wetter conditions in the Southern U.S., and different energy demand patterns.

The Pacific Ocean sea surface temperature during El Niño and La Niña episodes. Image from Climate.gov.

These ocean-driven weather patterns also shape how much energy can be produced from renewables:

⛅ Cloudier skies cut into solar generation, leaving those with rooftop systems more dependent on the grid.

🌬️ Stronger winds give a boost to wind power, helping to stabilize supply and even lower prices at certain times.

🏭 But wetter conditions can disrupt coal production, with swings in heating and cooling demand adding more pressure to the system.

⚡ The result is a more unpredictable energy mix, with the potential for supply crunches and sudden price swings if extreme weather hits.

This is a U.S. example, but the same principle plays out globally. Ocean data drives weather forecasts that guide decisions across industries like energy markets, shipping routes, fisheries, offshore wind, retail and insurance.

Energy markets, worth trillions globally, are one piece of the puzzle I’d like to highlight. It matters because the prices set there are baked into the global economy in ways most people never see.

A gas trader adjusting futures (agreements to buy or sell gas at a set price later) based on weather forecasts can ultimately influence how much families pay to heat their homes or how affordable everyday essentials like cooking fuel and electricity are.

The forecasts used come from global models that pull in data from satellites, ocean buoys, and sensor networks. Private companies then refine those models to provide sharper insights.

How good are these insights? Only short-term forecasts up to about a week are strong. Uncertainty grows the further ahead you look, especially in regions with fewer sensors.

Smarter AI-driven models, denser ocean sensor networks, and better data integration can help.

Several startups are already working on this, one of them is Planette. They’re an AI and science-driven startup providing environmental forecasts up to one year ahead. Ocean data plays a critical role in these forecasts.

As the Planette CEO & Co-founder, Hansi Singh, put it in our conversation, “Long-range weather forecasts are only possible because of the ocean, it has a much longer memory than the atmosphere, so we can predict beyond the traditional 7-day weather forecast window.”

It’s important to note that long-range forecasts don’t predict the weather on a given day, they reveal predictive patterns, like a warmer winter ahead or a higher chance of drought.

Planette dashboard showing weather alerts you could set up for your region.

With long-range forecasting usability matters as much as accuracy. By turning the ocean’s signals into accessible insights, companies like Planette show how ocean intelligence can aid different industries and shape daily life.

It can help fisheries plan their seasons, utilities balance supply, traders set fairer prices, and households avoid the worst of sudden spikes.

Planette hosts a weekly series on long-range environmental forecasts that’s worth following: https://www.planette.ai/events.

Thank you for reading the second edition of Blue Tide! If you have any topics or companies you’d enjoy reading about then please reach out.

🦑 Zané

That’s the question Dr. Ashley Smyth and her team at the University of Florida are exploring. Backed by a NOAA Florida Sea Grant, they’re studying whether seaweed could be cultivated at scale in the state as both an economic opportunity and environmental solution.

The global seaweed industry was valued at $17.14 billion just two years ago and continues to grow rapidly. Beyond its role in pharmaceuticals, eco-friendly packaging, animal feed, and fertilizer, seaweed is already part of products most people use every day.

Seaweed extracts like carrageenan and alginate keep ice cream creamy, make beer less hazy, and thicken toothpaste. You’ll also find it in things like salad dressings, dairy products, and some cosmetics.

Globally, seaweed farming is dominated by cold-water kelps and by large tropical farms in Asia, but tropical cultivation has not yet been developed in U.S. waters. While we often hear about kelp farming in places like Maine and Alaska, Florida’s warm climate opens the door to testing tropical species such as red (Gracilaria), brown (Sargassum), and green (Ulva, often called sea lettuce) seaweeds.

Tropical seaweeds that have the potential to be farmed in Florida.

Here’s what counts in Florida’s favor:

🌊 An expansive coastline — Florida has 8,436 statute miles (13,574 km) of shoreline, offering ample space and varied conditions for testing cultivation sites.

🌞 Year-round cultivation potential — Unlike colder regions limited to seasonal farming, Florida’s warm waters could support continuous growth cycles, improving efficiency and yields.

🦪 An established shellfish industry to build on — With existing aquaculture infrastructure, expertise, and permitting pathways, the state already has a foundation that seaweed farming could plug into.

But along with these advantages come some challenges:

📈 Economic viability — Building supply chains, developing processing facilities, and creating consistent markets for tropical seaweed products.

🌪️ Storm exposure and gear loss — Florida is no stranger to hurricanes, meaning farmers would face high risks of equipment damage and crop loss.

🌡️ Species and temperature fit — U.S. seaweed farming has so far focused mainly on cold-water kelps in New England and Alaska. Whether tropical varieties can grow reliably and at scale in Florida’s warm waters is still unproven.

The study aims to assess these points and more, helping future cultivators and investors determine whether the opportunity is worthwhile, or saving them from investing in something that isn’t viable.

Right now, seaweed farming in Florida exists only at a small scale, mostly in enclosed tank systems, making this research the first step toward testing open-water possibilities and building the knowledge needed before any commercial industry can take shape.

It helps to look at what’s happening elsewhere in the seaweed sector. Globally, demand and production are rising fast, but as Civil Eats reported, many U.S. ventures have faced financial setbacks, regulatory gaps, and market pressures. The future here depends on proving workable models, scaling responsibly, and building the infrastructure to support long-term growth.

At the same time, the case for seaweed isn’t only about economics. It absorbs nitrogen, which is a major pollutant from fertilizers, sewage, and storm runoff. When too much nitrogen builds up in coastal waters, it fuels algal blooms and dead zones where oxygen is too low for marine life to survive.

In Florida, red tide blooms have been linked to massive fish kills and, as shown in 2005, can wipe out around 30% of a fish species during extreme events.

Red tide captured by NASA Earth Observatory (data courtesy of Planet Labs PBC).

We can see that seaweed cultivation could offer economic and environmental value, but whether it will work in Florida remains an open question for now.

If this feature sparked your interest, Dr. Smyth and her team recently hosted an info session that’s worth a listen, tune in here. They’re currently looking for interest and community feedback.

Thanks for reading Blue Tide! The next feature is on the way. In the meantime, share your take: do you think seaweed farming could work in Florida? Reply to this email, I’d love to hear from you.

🐡 Zané