At Fiora Mara, we are focused on validating our seaweed hatchery design. Our current efforts involve combining male and female gametophytes and nurturing them into seaweed plantlets on grow lines. This phase is crucial in confirming that our seaweed hatchery can operate in a challenging, industrial environment, not only facilitating the growth of these gametophytes into plantlets but also preventing biological contamination in this traditional dirty environment throughout the process.
With the male and female gametophytes being combined and applied to the grow lines that are wrapped around PVC piping, we’ve entered the early stages of nurturing them to maturity. This initial test is focused on evaluating our hatchery processes and our methods for growing gametophytes into plantlets in our tanks. Our future tests will explore different methods, including working with seaweed spores.
Conducted in a shared warehouse space, this experiment aims to demonstrate that our hatchery can maintain a clean, contamination-free environment while functioning under challenging conditions. Success in this phase will confirm that our hatchery design is capable of being constructed at any location, producing deployment-ready seedlings, adaptable to more rugged settings like an ocean bound barge.
This testing is essential for achieving our long-term vision: creating a portable hatchery that can be deployed from barges during oceanic journeys. By using collecting seaweed and isolating gametophytes from the varied regions where we operate, we aim to seed our self-sinking, biodegradable seaweed farms directly in the ocean. Proving the effectiveness of our hatchery design ensures that our methods are scalable and capable of supporting barge-based operations, driving large-scale carbon removal globally.
As we refine our hatchery and progress toward full-scale ocean deployment, we’re taking another exciting step closer to realizing our vision for the future – where seaweed plays a crucial role in capturing significant amounts of carbon while protecting the ocean.
