Aquaculture Canada brings together academia, industry professionals and students to present the latest aquaculture research and technology.
Cascadia Seaweed, an AgTech company based in British Columbia, is excited to announce that founder and director, Bill Collins, will be a speaker at the
Aquaculture Association of Canada Conference
in Charlottetown next week.
Cyr Couturier, Chair of the Sustainable Aquaculture Program at the Marine Institute of Memorial University and one of the organizers of the of the First Canadian Seaweed Forum, says,
“I was pleased to invite Bill to give the opening address at the first Canadian Seaweed Forum which will bring the Canadian industry together to share innovations, opportunities and constraints for cold-water seaweed cultivation.”
Couturier added,
“Cascadia Seaweed is the leading ocean-based seaweed farming company in Canada, and the lessons learned from their experience will benefit other start-ups in this sector.”
“We are excited to participate in a full day of sessions related to seaweed, featuring an excellent lineup of speakers. I’m honoured to be one of them,”
says Collins.
“The seaweed business is not new to North America; there has been activity on both coasts for over 40 years. However, the economics of seaweed cultivation in these new geographies are poorly understood. My presentation will focus on the economics and could be used as a foundation for aquaculture entrepreneurs who may be thinking of initiating such an enterprise.”
Cascadia Seaweed is a vertically integrated company growing 3 species across 8 locations and producing over 300 tonnes last season, making them one of North America’s largest seaweed cultivators. Cascadia leases tenure and conducts farming operations with six different Nations along the coast, then harvests the seaweed and manufactures soil supplements and feed additives to support regenerative agriculture.
“These markets are well-established but have been serviced with wild-harvested seaweed. Over the past decade, there has been a push towards sustainable aquaculture and agriculture, putting cultivated seaweed in the spotlight and targeting innovation and investment. This opportunity was the driving force behind the creation of Cascadia Seaweed in 2019,”
explains Collins.
In the realm of sustainable aquaculture supporting regenerative agriculture, getting the costs right is of utmost importance. The increasing demand for seaweed-derived products threatens natural seaweed populations. Choosing products from cultivated seaweed helps protect these vital ecosystems, but cultivation incurs higher capital costs compared to wild harvesting. At the same time, terrestrial farmers are under pressure to boost production despite rising input costs.
Cascadia Seaweed has built its business on the belief that scaling up cultivation to reduce unit costs is the solution to both challenges. This presentation will provide an opportunity for Cascadia to discuss what it takes to achieve this goal.
