October 18, 2022

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

British Columbia-based Cascadia Seaweed is an innovative Canadian startup focused on kelp farming – an activity the company calls “the definition of regenerative aquaculture” – as it is renewable, uses no fresh water, fertilizers, pesticides, or arable land, and sources all required nutrients directly from the sea. 

Cascadia stated that it is the only vertically integrated company of its kind in the country, combining expertise, First Nations partnerships, and progressive brand development, cultivating climate-positive biomass in the ocean for products that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build a more resilient food system.

As cultivator, as opposed to harvester, Cascadia’s current 26 hectares of farming systems are low-impact, consisting of anchors on the sea bed, floats at the surface, and tensioned ropes running from one to the other.

In order to protect the genetic diversity of each species of seaweed, the team collects reproductive material each fall, from which is created a spore solution used to grow a new generation of seaweed seedlings in the company’s custom nursery. These seedlings are then planted on the ocean floor over the winter, and harvested in the spring. This biomass is transported to a processing facility to be washed and frozen for further processing into farm, food, and feed ingredients.

“At Cascadia Seaweed we cultivate seaweed on low-impact farms in the ocean providing ecosystem services such as carbon capture, oxygen production and habitat,” said Bill Collins, chair, Cascadia Seaweed. “Then we harvest that crop to produce climate-positive products for a more resilient food system.”

At the end of September, Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) announced investments in six pioneering Canadian companies working toward a more sustainable future. One recipient was Cascadia Seaweed, which secured $4.3 million to be distributed over three years in support of the construction of a new 100-hectare aquaculture farm and agrifeed processing facility. 

“This agreement between Cascadia Seaweed and our First Nations partners with funding from SDTC will support the build of a 100-hectare ocean farm and an agrifeeds processing facility,” said Collins. “It’s sustainable aquaculture empowering regenerative agriculture, addressing Canada’s net zero targets while creating jobs, economic growth, and long-term prosperity.”

Additionally, after two years of navigating application processes and conducting analyses of the company’s ESG impacts, Cascadia Seaweed and its subsidiary Kove Ocean Foods qualified as a Certified B Corporation in late September. 

Throughout the process, Cascadia stated that it amended its articles of incorporation to become a registered Benefit Company of British Columbia, meaning it is committed to sustainable and responsible business practices to produce healthy products, and to provide greater opportunities for coastal Peoples, while advocating that industry can thrive alongside the environment. 

“Achieving the B Corp Certification is tough, and that’s exactly why we like it,” said Heidi Grantner, with Synergy Enterprises, who assisted Cascadia through the certification process.

“The assessment and verification process forces companies to take a hard look at exactly how they create positive impact, and rewards companies that implement rigorous policies, build sound and ethical processes, and achieve measurable, transparent results.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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