Marine agronomy is not a new idea but it is an idea that may now be feasible and whose time has come. By farming seaweeds (macroalgae) at sea, as we now farm food crops on land, food for future generations would be assured, while the seaweed farms that produce it would serve, like our forests, as ‘lungs’; absorbing CO₂ and producing oxygen, and using nutrients that cause ‘dead zones’ in many coastal waters. The crops produced could help to fulfill food needs for future population growth, as well as produce animal feeds, biofuels, and other useful products.  While many see the oceans as over-exploited and in trouble due to unsustainable human consumption, we see them as a solution where a parallel agronomy could provide for our future needs and balance our terrestrial excesses.

This Marine Agronomy website is a resource and a forum for discussion for those who share this vision or who want to learn more about it. With others engaged in similar endeavors throughout the world we hope it will lead to national and international policies that will allow the idea to be fully explored.

World Bank Report - Seaweed Aquaculture for Food Security, Income Generation and Environmental Health in Tropical Developing Countries