Sustainable Seas: The Story of Câr-y-Môr’s Innovative Ocean Farming

“Many are concerned that modern farming practices are reducing our farming land’s productivity and ecosystem health. Creating a sustainable future is a core part of Câr-y-Môr’s aim” (Owen Haines, co-founder Câr-y-Môr [Love of the Sea])

Câr-y-Môr is a Community Benefit Society (CBS) located off the Pembrokeshire coast of Wales. Founded in 2019 it is the country’s first regenerative seaweed and shellfish farm with a mission to improve the health of the planet and its people. Its origins can be traced back to 2017 when an extended 7-person family group became interested in exploring the potential of farming in the sea. It started with a conversation between Megan and Jonathan Williams of Pembrokeshire Beach Foods Co., who were concerned about the unsustainability of wild seaweed harvesting. The family then learned about Greenwave, a pioneering Alaskan organisation   developing regenerative ocean farming models that create jobs and environmental benefits. Inspired by their work, the group decided to investigate if a similar approach could be replicated in the Welsh seas. They started with two 100 metre pilot farms where, in partnership with researchers from Bangor and Swansea Universities, they tested the project, growing different species of native seaweed and shellfish and monitoring the carbon capture, growth rates and broader environmental impacts in partnership with Bangor and Swansea Universities. As the initial findings revealed a 17 per cent increased crop yield they decided to scale the venture opening a 3 hectare site, the size of two football pitches.

In January 2021 they had purchased the award-winning Solva Seafoods and by 2024 they were not just selling locally through their own outlet but online, providing employment for 14 members of the local community. Also, they had recruited 260 CBS members from various walks of life who not only helped provide startup funding but owned and  controlled the venture, ensuring all of the profits were being  reinvested to create more community benefits.  Among these activities were outdoor educational programmes for local school children and opportunities for local volunteering the objective being to reconnect people with the coastal environment and inspire them to become stewards of it.

On February 13th, 2024, the “Pembrokeshire Herald” newspaper reported that the firm had plans to build the first seaweed processing factory in Wales in order to produce a plant biostimulant from the seaweed harvested from Câr-y-Môr’s own regenerative seaweed farms. The biostimulant will help reduce agriculture’s dependency on artificial fertilisers and pesticides and will contribute to the UK’s transition to net zero, making it one of the most sustainable forms of food production and a key to the shift in consumer demand to more regenerative food production. As Owen points out “Our seaweed biostimulant is not just a product, it’s a promise to the land and to those who nurture it”, harnessing the ocean’s nutrients through an energy-efficient process to nourish the soil.

While Owen is “very excited about the potential to provide farms and domestic customers in the UK and Ireland with a natural and sustainable biostimulant”, Câr-y-Môr is still very much an early-stage initiative, though it has the potential to develop into a valuable highly successful Harmonious Enterprise. It has a strong leadership team, a committed and like-minded group of members, and is concerned not just about “making as much money as possible” but about the planet and its people. Clearly it addresses SDG 13 (Climate Action), but it also embraces SDGs 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), 14 (Life Below Water), 15 (Life on Land) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

References

Sinclair, T., (2024), Car-Y-Mor to build seaweed processing facility in west Wales. The Pembrokeshire Herald.  February 13th.

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