Nature-Based Fisheries to Strengthen Ocean Food Security

The Problem

  • Declining Fish Stocks Threaten Food Security

    Global food demand is rising, and climate change is making land-based production less predictable. The ocean can help fill the gap, but only with fisheries that scale sustainably.

  • The Caribbean Relies Too Heavily on Imports

    Caribbean economies rely heavily on imported goods including, seafood and other products.

    Initiatives like 25 by 25+5 (2030) highlight the need for new, local production models, and enhancing fisheries offers the strongest path to reduce imports and grow exports.

  • Sargassum influxes are increasing and treated as waste rather than opportunity.

    Sargassum is disrupting tourism, coastal ecosystems, and public health. Yet most responses focus on turning it into something after it has caused damage.

    Offshore, however, sargassum functions as a mobile ecosystem that supports marine life, and proactive solutions can work with it before it becomes a problem.

The Caribbean

  • Close-up of yellow berries and brown leaves on a shrub.

    What is Sargassum?

    Sargassum is a floating macroalgae—technically a protist—fueled by iron-rich dust from Africa’s west coast, forming vast mats in the Sargasso Sea. Since 2011, massive blooms have exploded, overwhelming the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and Atlantic coasts, disrupting ecosystems, harming tourism, and releasing toxic gases. While often blamed on nutrient pollution, the real driver is climate change—sargassum thrives under rising CO₂ levels, turning it into a growing environmental and public health crisis.

  • Beach resort with lounge chairs, umbrellas, palm trees, sandy beach, and a wooden pier extending into the ocean under a clear sky.

    Sargassum's Costly Toll on Tourism

    Each year, waves of rotting sargassum wash ashore, disrupting peak tourism seasons. The foul odor and harmful gases drive away guests, leading to cancellations, bad reviews, and lost revenue. Coastal businesses struggle, threatening local economies that rely on tourism. Without action, this recurring crisis will only get worse.

  • Four women wearing colorful headscarves, seen from the back, in an outdoor setting.

    Sargassum's Hidden Health Crisis

    As rotting sargassum breaks down, it releases hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, polluting coastal air (rotten egg smell). Studies link exposure to an increased risk of preeclampsia in pregnant women, while workers and residents suffer from respiratory issues and mental health struggles. Children in nearby schools report headaches and difficulty focusing, and those who swim in it risk skin rashes and irritation. This growing public health crisis demands urgent action.

  • Dead fish on sandy beach beside seaweed

    Harming Ecosystems

    Massive sargassum blooms smother coral reefs, blocking sunlight and releasing harmful chemicals that destroy marine ecosystems. When it washes ashore, it traps baby sea turtles, preventing them from reaching the ocean. Left unchecked, sargassum threatens the very life that depends on these fragile coastal habitats.

  • The Costly Burden of Cleanup

    Hotels and resorts spend millions on manual sargassum removal, yet the problem keeps returning. Cleanup is labor-intensive, harmful to beaches, and disrupts operations, driving up costs while deterring tourists. A sustainable solution is needed—one that reduces cleanup expenses, restores coastal beauty, and protects local economies from this ongoing crisis.

  • A man in a blue long-sleeve shirt and shorts wading through seaweed on a beach, with boats floating in the water nearby.

    Offshore Asset, Nearshore Obstacle

    Offshore, fishermen often seek sargassum because it attracts fish. Nearshore, the same blooms can block launches, foul gear, and disrupt fishing.

    The opportunity is using sargassum offshore before it becomes a coastal burden.

Our Solution

  • System Overview

    Seeing Sargassum before it becomes a problem

    We combine satellite imagery, ocean circulation models, and public sargassum forecasts to understand where sargassum is forming, how much biomass is present, and where it is likely to drift. By integrating these existing data sources, we provide clearer, more actionable insight into offshore sargassum movement before it reaches shore.

  • Food Block

    Enhancing natural fish aggregation

    We work with our supply partners at ISER Caribe to develop a food block made from native organisms such as sea urchins, copepods, small crabs, and oysters, paired with our patent-pending coupler. These organisms either graze sargassum or help sink it offshore. If they do not attach, the remaining biomass becomes food for the surrounding food web.

  • Tracker

    Sargassum & fish tracking hardware

    Fishermen deploy a solar-powered GPS tracker into the same sargassum patch, providing unlimited location updates as the mat drifts. The tracker housing is designed to naturally entangle within the seaweed so it moves with the patch over time. Trackers can be recovered during follow-on fishing trips or when sargassum eventually reaches shore.

  • Software

    Turning drift into decision making

    Fishermen pair their trackers with our software to view sargassum locations, deployment sites, and drift paths in one place. Over days to weeks, this allows them to return precisely to productive mats and reduce search time. Future versions will integrate fish-finder data to estimate fish abundance and species composition around these enhanced natural structures.

Future: Creating Open-Ocean Fisheries

  • FloCS consists of:

    • Floaters (macroalgae spores)

    • Sinkers (calcifying invertebrate larvae)

    • Coupler (IP co-settlement and nutrient enhancer)

  • FloCS enables the deployment of billions of coupled units that grow into full structures that recruit fish. These structures can be fished from as they mature offshore. Over time, the sinkers gain mass and the entire structure sinks to the deep ocean.

  • By creating stable aggregation points, FloCS supports more efficient and more selective fishing offshore. This enables the harvest of sustainably caught fish while reducing pressure on coastal and nearshore ecosystems (like coral reefs), strengthening food security and ocean health.

  • As monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) frameworks and demand for nature-based carbon credit markets mature, sinking FloCS structures may support future carbon credit pathways. Any carbon outcomes will depend on validated methodologies and long-term measurement. Today, our focus remains on building fisheries.

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