Ocean Regeneration, Marine Permaculture & Sustainable Kelp Farms
Blue Endeavors is hosting a talk on Ocean Regeneration, Marine Permaculture & Sustainable Kelp Farms. Damian Mason will present observations from noted climate solutions advocate Brian Von Herzen on how we can help save our ocean by bringing back oyster beds and kelp forests.

Healthy and abundant Kelp forests provide a multitude of benefits to a region. They store carbon via photosynthesis, making use of the nitrates in the water. They reduce wave energy & cool the waters, leading to reduction in size and severity of tropical storms, protecting the surrounding regions. They feed, attract, and shelter a large & diverse array of marine life. Kelp forests can be sustainably harvested for food, fertilizer, fuel and pharmaceuticals. Carbon export from the mixed layer into the middle and deep ones can be measured. Algae in our oceans, rivers & lakes provides over 50% of the oxygen in the air we breathe, so clearly for our survival, this situation needs to be remedied as soon as possible. One key solution is Marine Permaculture Arrays.

What is a Marine Permaculture Array and how does it work?

MPAs regenerate ocean deserts into thriving marine ecosystems by mechanically pumping cool water from the depths to the surface which provides nutrients that support the growth of kelp forests. Kelp forests regenerate the foundation and habitat for diverse multiple species, forming the base for regenerating ecosystem services.

Imagine a giant soda straw using wave energy to restore overturning circulation, sucking up cold nutrient-rich water from near the bottom of the ocean to feed the base of a kelp forest array placed eighty feet below sea level. Kelp grows and fixes carbon via photosynthesis faster than any other trees or grasses on the planet. As ships go by and summer shifts to winter, the kelp gets a “haircut” or naturally dies back, with much of that carbon-rich material sinking to the bottom of the ocean where it remains for millennia. The kelp and epiphytes that abound in this system filter and purify water, removing nitrates and other pollutants. Together the kelp and other sea life reduce the acidity of the water as they thrive and grow. A portion of the kelp, shellfish and a myriad of other species that proliferate in and gravitate to these systems can be sustainably harvested for human uses. One profitable application is to combine seaweed and shells with Biochar, beneficial microbe-rich wastes and other natural waste materials to create organic soil amendments which, when applied, trigger a domino effect in the soil food web to help maximize carbon capture and sequestration on land.

Check out the Marine Permaculture teaser:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hkptfRIwUn8xzyO9Km5eeLlR4GayYpzf/view