Combining fishing and marine farming

This project aims to promote an alternative and positive development path for small coastal fishers, providing healthy and sustainable food while contributing to the restoration of marine ecosystems. Joachim Hjerl, founder of the NGO Havhøst, which promotes regenerative food production in the sea, leads the project with support of the Danish Fisheries Agency and the Association for Gentle Coastal Fishing. The project financed the establishment of two seaweed fields in two different locations, covering the processing and logistics related to the harvest, as well as assessing the business case for seaweed farming as a supplement to small-scale fishing. This initiative has allowed fishers to begin growing regenerative crops in the sea for the first time, supplementing their fishing, diversifying their incomes and preserving a fishing tradition that is both historically and economically significant to the region.