Regenerative ocean farming is breathing life back into our oceans

By Real Leaders

Regenerative ocean farming is a zero-input, polyculture seaweed and shellfish farming model where crops grow vertically below the surface, producing high yields with a small footprint. 

Founded in 2014 in New Haven, Connecticut, GreenWave is working to replicate and scale regenerative ocean farming. The nonprofit partners with coastal communities across North America to create a blue economy by leveraging a mix of farmer-forward training and support, climate subsidies, and market development.

On a Mission

Bren Smith co-founded GreenWave to train and support the next generation of ocean farmers. The former fisherman and oysterman remade himself into a farmer after weathering a few literal and metaphorical storms.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned during my journey, it’s that you don’t need to be an environmentalist or foodie to be part of building a climate-resilient food system,” Smith says. “We need all hands on deck if we’re going to make a living on a living planet.”  

At the Helm

Smith, also co-executive director of GreenWave, is among the early pioneers of the development of regenerative ocean farming. He owns Thimble Island Ocean Farm, GreenWave’s floating classroom. Smith is an Ashoka, Castanea, and Echoing Green Climate Fellow. He authored Eat Like a Fish: My Adventures Farming the Ocean to Fight Climate Change.

Back to Basics

Drawing on 1,000 years of ocean farming dating back to Roman times and Indigenous practices in the Pacific Northwest, Smith got started to synthesize the good and refuse the bad of industrial practices. His one hard-and-fast rule? Grow only zero-input species that won’t swim away and don’t need to be fed.

What’s Growing?

GreenWave’s farm design is a simple rope scaffolding with hurricane-proof anchors on the edges connected by horizontal ropes floating 6 feet below the surface. From these lines, kelp grows vertically downward next to mussels held in suspension in mesh socks. On the seafloor below sit oysters in cages.

Powerful Renewal Agents

Shellfish and seaweeds are regenerative and are powerful agents of renewal. A seaweed like kelp is heralded as the culinary equivalent of the electric car. Regenerative ocean farming works in partnership with the ocean to increase the supply of this marine crop that can unlock solutions to many of the issues we face in food, agriculture, materials, and other industries.

Combatting Dead Zones

Oysters and mussels filter up to 50 gallons of water a day, removing nitrogen, a nutrient that is the root cause of the ever-expanding dead zones in the ocean. These farms function as storm surge protectors and artificial reefs, helping protect shoreline communities and attracting a range of aquatic species that come to hide, eat, and thrive.

Endless Benefits

GreenWave’s crops are a climate sweet spot, requiring no fresh water, fertilizer, or feed. They also create economic opportunities for coastal communities. Ocean farmers simultaneously create jobs, feed the planet, and fight climate change.