REGENERATIVE OCEAN FARMING IN THE BALTIC SEA REGION - REGIONAL FLAGSHIPS PROJECTS SUPPORTING SUSTAINABLE BLUE ECONOMY IN EU SEA BASINS

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COOL BLUE BALTIC: Community Ocean Farms and Local Business Clusters in the Baltic Sea

Funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement ID 101124475. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

The COOL BLUE BALTIC project is a EMFAF flagship project under Grant Agreement ID 101124475 (EMFAF-2023-PIA-FLAGSHIP).

 

The overall objective is to reorient fishers from extraction to ocean regeneration activities.

 

With 11 partners from each Baltic Member State, the project will assess technical, economic, environmental and social requirements to establish regenerative aquaculture in the Baltic Sea.

What is regenerative aquaculture?

Just add water

Regenerative aquaculture is a novel approach to aquatic farming systems which simultaneously produces food and other byproducts by cultivating species which regenerate the surrounding ecosystem (including human ecosystems) to support more life, while creating education and business opportunities in the local economy.

It focuses on restoring nutrient cycles, increasing biodiversity, improving water quality, enhancing ecosystem services, supporting biosequestration and increasing resilience to climate change while strengthening the health and interrelationships of human and aquatic ecosystems.

It does this through community-scale cultivation of zero-input species such as shellfish, seaweed, seagrass and coastal plants which “clean” and oxygenate the water, stabilise sediments, provide habitat for other species while creating new sources of income for local people.

Ecosystems which have been degraded from human activity or climate change can be restored for commercial gain, either through local business development or investment through government subsidies or private sponsorship.

The benefits have ripple effects in the local community, creating opportunities for community events, education, tourism, citizen science and more in a positive feedback loop.

What is regenerative business?

Moving beyond sustainability

Regenerative businesses go beyond sustainability by putting back more than they take out, nourishing (rather than degrading) the very ecosystems that sustain them. From restoring ecosystems to creating local jobs, hosting events, educating each other, developing local products, addressing mental health and building social networks, regenerative businesses reverse negative trends to keep wealth within local economies, building natural and social as well as financial capital.

The 5 key principles of regenerative business:

  1. Regenerative businesses go beyond mitigation to regeneration, doing more good instead of minimising harm.
  2. Beyond profit accumulation to direct re-investment, putting money straight back into the community.
  3. Beyond competition to mutual benefits, emphasising cooperation and fairness instead of a “survival of the fittest” mentality.
  4. Beyond fragmented supply chains to ones that are locally rooted, keeping it local instead of outsourcing or importing.
  5. Beyond hierarchical structures to developmental, enabling environments, letting communities make the decisions through a participatory learning approach.