Next steps for realising the potential of seaweed and shellfish aquaculture for ecosystem benefit and socio-economic gain in coastal communities

The project builds on work conducted over the 2024/25 FY under the marine Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (mNCEA) Programme within the EA's Land-Sea Interface project (reference NC74), which aimed to fill priority evidence gaps in our understanding and monitoring of the provision of ecosystem services by estuarine and coastal natural capital assets.

A cross cutting finding of the 2024/25FY project was that there are no recognised pathways for nature-based solutions such as seaweed and shellfish aquaculture to be part of a wider market solution for improving ocean health, reducing global CO2 or improving water quality. This lack of recognition / regulation impacts markets preventing scale up and reducing the potential for socio-economic growth in coastal communities. This project works to address identified knowledge gaps and provide further insights:

• Provide new insights into the role kelp plays in nutrient remediation and removal rates, carbon sequestration and biodiversity support.
• Build an evidence base on the potential socio-economic opportunities that combined kelp and shellfish cultivation could provide to the fishing sector and wider coastal communities.

Work focuses on options for the development and application of modular systems to meet socioeconomic needs for growth and water quality improvement by seaweed and shellfish - providing a framework for marine nature-based solutions to be recognised and incorporated into policy by regulators. The North Bay in Scarborough is used as a case study site, as a location where combined seaweed and shellfish aquaculture has the potential to improve water quality, and where poor bathing water quality is impacting coastal communities and businesses. The Yorkshire Coast also provides an ideal setting for examining the potential for integration of aquaculture and the fishing sector, as well as the wider socio-economic benefits to coastal communities.

Outputs will provide evidence to inform spatial prioritisation decisions and support coastal aquaculture investment that will meet future UK conservation, economic and social drivers.