South America

The waters surrounding Isla Margarita, off the Caribbean coast of Venezuela, have become Latin America’s most productive seaweed farming region, largely thanks to three young enterprises, which are empowering smallholder farmers by providing a route to market.…

Lorena Gamez, manager of El Pasito Afro-Agricultural and Tourism Association (ASOPASITO), aims to support and strengthen communities of both indigenous and African descent in Cesar, Colombia, through sustainable fish farming and rural community tourism. 

Fabiane Almeida, founder of Aqua Viridi, is convinced that producing Amazonian algae can help tackle environmental challenges, increase food production and create employment opportunities in the heart of the rainforest.

Carolina Muñoz and José Avilés have been cultivating seaweed for over two decades in Bahía Inglesa, northern Chile. While production was initially their main focus, they are currently spending more time investigating ways to add value to their crops.

The opportunities presented by smarter tools that can solve ongoing problems on shrimp farms are set to be the topic in a new session at this year’s Global Shrimp Forum.

José Pablo Puga, co-founder and CEO of ChucaoTech, pioneered the use of nanobubbles to tackle seabed pollution beneath salmon farms, but has since expanded into other applications and species. 

The Algas Atacama initiative is being developed to boost northern Chile’s coastal economy and promote more sustainable management of marine resources.

Arapaima have long been touted as a promising genus of fish for farming, but there are still some major research hurdles to be cleared before they can be produced efficiently enough to be economically viable.

Startup Blusink is pioneering the sinking of substrates to help restore rhodolith beds, in a bid to capture carbon and improve marine biodiversity.