Florida researchers are exploring whether seaweed could become the state’s next sustainable crop, potentially boosting aquaculture while helping to clean coastal cities.
Scientists at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and Florida Sea Grant launched the effort last year with a $250,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant Aquaculture Program. The project aims to determine if seaweed farming is viable in Florida’s warm waters, where it could serve as a high-value commodity similar to operations in Europe and parts of the Americas.
Led by Ashley Smyth, an associate professor of soil, water, and ecosystem sciences at the UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center, the team includes industry partners, Extension agents, and other experts. Recent updates from the group have drawn interest from researchers, aquaculture professionals and entrepreneurs eager to tap into the economic potential.
“Seaweed aquaculture has tripled over the past two decades — with Asia producing nearly all the supply — and it’s one of the fastest-growing commodity sectors globally,” said Angela Collins, a Florida Sea Grant assistant Extension scientist specializing in marine fisheries and shellfish aquaculture at the UF/IFAS Tropical Aquaculture Lab and a co-principal investigator on the project…