Câr-y-Môr, a community-owned, regenerative ocean farm in Wales, is pioneering 3D ocean farming. The farm grows seaweed, mussels, oysters, and scallops together to mutually benefit each other and create an ocean habitat. The farm, founded in 2020 by Francois Beyer and his family, is part of a burgeoning industry of 12 farms in the UK that farmers and researchers alike believe could boost ocean biodiversity, produce sustainable agricultural fertiliser, and provide year-round employment in areas traditionally dependent on tourism. The name Câr-y-Môr translates to “for the love of the sea.”
Despite the conservation and economic benefits of ocean farming, UK regulators have been cautious. It has therefore made it difficult for businesses like Câr-y-Môr to obtain licenses. “It’s been a tough old slog,” says Beyer, whose goal is to change legislation to make ocean farming more accessible. He, like Ross Brown, an environmental research fellow at the University of Exeter, strongly believes that ocean farming can provide solutions to the UK’s depleted fish stocks. Brown explains that seaweed farming creates an exclusion zone for trawlers while farmers can create safe havens for fish and other organisms.
The business has gotten 300 community members, almost 100 of which have invested in the community-benefit society. The new Welsh Seafood Fund Infrastructure Scheme has granted the farm £1.1 million to promote and develop the Welsh seafood industry. The grant will build a processing hub that will enable them to produce agricultural fertiliser from seaweed. The seaweed hub has the potential to churn out 65, 000 litres of sustainable fertiliser annually and cover 13,000 acres of farmland. The intention is that the regeneration project should break even in 18 months if they obtain licenses
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