Seaweed in the Spotlight

Ocean acidification is just one of the ways in which coastal communities are already feeling the effects of a changing global ocean. The potentially devastating ramifications have made it an urgent environmental and economic issue. A collaborative project led by the Puget Sound Restoration Fund in conjunction with NOAA and other partners, was just awarded $1.5 million by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation to tackle the impacts of ocean acidification. The project looks to employ an unlikely hero: seaweed.

“There are not a lot of tools in the tool box that can fight ocean acidification or remove carbon dioxide (CO ) from the ocean” says Dr. Michael Rust, NOAA Aquaculture Science Coordinator and a collaborator on the project. “Seaweed farms might be one of our best bets.”