Looking for Partners
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I'm the founder of a native habitat restoration nonprofit and MarCom leader.
My spouse and I are looking to reinvent ourselves and invest in a seaweed and kelp hatchery or farming operation in Texas (or potentially, North Carolina). We've both been in marketing for about 20 years and are environmentalists passionate about the potential of dedicating ourselves to a regenerative venture that frees us from our office jobs and creates green jobs for others. Not to mention the many virtues and biproducts seaweed farming offers.
Any other investors in Texas (or other states) interested in making a difference? We'd love to connect.
@jillian_mcfarland28 Hey Jillian, I don’t know if I have anything that would fit what you’re looking for considering your geographic parameters. I’m in WA. You can read a bit about us here www.pacificseafarms.com.
If nothing else it might be good to chat and who knows… maybe there’d be an opportunity to collaborate on something
Hi, @jillian_mcfarland28. My understanding (and I hope others with more experience jump in to correct me) is that there is already an abundance (over-abundance) of sargassum & other algaes around the gulf coast because of agricultural run-off. There are some companies looking at harvesting that (over-abundant) sargassum & you should be able to find them on the phyconomy.net database. A good start might be to sort by location & kelp type on their website.
If I remember correctly, the folks at Arktide (currently operating out of Florida & possibly Puerto Rico) have also discussed the idea of cultivating sargassum off the Gulf Coast, but I don't know if they are doing that yet or if they have refocused on other business models. Arktide link.
If you're interested in micro-venture capital, you can look at websites like Angel list (link) with the important caveat that anything I post here is not investment advice.
Regarding transitioning to the kelp industry more broadly, please keep in mind that maritime industries can be dangerous, such as with the recent fatal accident at the Catalina Sea Ranch mariculture farm in California (link). I'm not trying to discourage you, but instead trying to convey that -- whatever you decide -- appropriate training & safety precautions are very important.
Cheers