Farmer hatches ‘nail salon of the sea’ plan to grow cheap food

TEPIC, Mexico: After two hurricanes in a row wiped out the crop of oysters Bren Smith would hustle on the streets of Brooklyn, the fisherman decided to take his ocean farm among Connecticut’s Thimble Islands ‘3D’, and says the model could help boost food security.

Firmly locked in place with hurricaneproof anchors, horizontal ropes sunk below the surface of the sea form the layered framework of Smith’s 3D ocean farm.

“We went 3D and started growing a whole mix of species — but only species that you don’t have to feed, that are zero input. So no fresh water, no fertiliser, no feed, which makes it the most affordable food to grow,” said Smith.

Kelp, a form of seaweed, sucks up five times more carbon than landbased plants while oysters can filter 50 gallons (189 litres) of water a day, he said.

The easily assembled underwater farms prove a magnet for fish and help regenerate reefs. And if a hurricane threatens, they can be quickly packed up or simply sunk lower, he added.

So far, the 3D concept, pioneered by Smith’s non-profit GreenWave, has drawn interest from would-be farmers around the US as well as in Brazil, Chile, Britain, Trinidad and South Africa.

GreenWave has helped set up 10 farms in less than two years, and will soon start test farms in California, hoping to have 25 farms of up to 20 acres (8 hectares) each in place by next year.

It plans to build up “reefs” of farms, based around areas with a land-based hatchery and a pool of companies nearby to buy the seaweed and shellfish. With low capital costs and minimum skill requirements, ocean farming can use a “nail salon model of the sea” to grow fast, he said.

Farmers are now eyeing ocean plots, which cost around $20,000 plus a boat to set up in the US, and can net up to $150,000 a year, he noted.