OceanGreen: Maximizing Economic Value through Restored Kelp Forests and Sustainable Fisheries

The OceanGreen project is a groundbreaking initiative focused on restoring kelp forests in North Norway through sustainable sea urchin removal while transforming harvested sea urchin biomass into valuable industry products. This multifaceted approach aims to create blue and green value, revitalise marine ecosystems, and foster economic growth. OceanGreen has two primary objectives: ecological restoration of kelp forests and developing technologies for effective sea urchin removal. These efforts are supplemented by secondary objectives, which include establishing a large-scale sea urchin fishing economy with harvesting tools, creating commercially viable urchin-based products, and designing methods that support kelp forest regeneration. Additionally, the project emphasises public awareness through regenerative tourism and citizen science. OceanGreen intertwines environmental restoration with economic development, offering a model that benefits both marine biodiversity and local communities. The project encompasses scalable technologies for sea urchin utilisation, collaborative efforts with coastal communities, and revitalisation of local economies. Key components include ecosystem impact evaluation, development of harvesting methods, exploration of sea urchin-derived products, and mapping of value chains for revenue generation. Requiring a wide array of competencies, OceanGreen involves stakeholders in harvesting technology, scaling strategies, processing optimisation, and by-product utilisation. This holistic approach extends to project management, education, communication, and regulatory analysis, ensuring comprehensive planning and execution. Positioned to make Norway a leader in green innovation, OceanGreen aims for a sustainable future that considers ecosystem health, economic growth, and community engagement. The project contributes to biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, and societal involvement, embodying sustainable development at its best.

The OceanGreen project aims to restore and protect kelp forests along the Norwegian coast, develop sea urchin removal technologies, and create commercially viable products from harvested sea urchins. It focuses on kelp forest restoration, scalable technologies, sea urchin utilisation, collaboration, and coastal community revitalisation. Work packages include kelp forest restoration, sea urchin removal and reuse, business model development, and system analysis. Project partners collaborate to implement solutions, evaluate ecosystem impacts, develop harvesting methods, explore sea urchin-derived products, quantify value chains, and identify revenue streams. Competencies required include harvesting technology, scaling strategies, processing optimisation, and by-product utilisation. Citizen science, project management, education, communication, and regulatory analysis are also involved. The project drives Norway's green shift, promotes sustainable resource utilisation, safeguards industries, and creates economic growth and employment. It aims for a value chain encompassing ecosystems, the economy, and communities, contributing to biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, economic growth, and societal engagement. The OceanGreen project positions Norway as a leader in green innovation, fostering kelp restoration, technology development, market creation, collaboration, and economic growth for a sustainable and resilient future.