Blue Economy

Sunken Seaweed, an aquaculture start-up company led by two marine ecologists joined the Port’s BEI to demonstrate the feasibility of seaweed aquaculture in San Diego Bay. Sunken Seaweed established a seaweed hatchery at San Diego State University’s Coastal and Marine Institute Laboratory and installed their submerged pilot farm using assets, such as docks and piers, managed by the Port. The company is successfully cultivating, outplanting, growing, monitoring, and harvesting several species of seaweed native to Southern California. Beyond commercialization, results from the pilot project are helping assess seaweed aquaculture’s multiple co-benefits, from carbon sequestration and bioremediation to improving water quality and ecosystem productivity. In 2022, the Port reinvested in an expansion of Sunken Seaweed's pilot which enables the company to build and continue its research in the burgeoning industry in and around San Diego Bay, while expanding operations to Humbolt Bay where they will benefit from shoreside facilities to help them reach market scale. Sunken Seaweed was recently showcased during a 2023 NBC “Climate Today” series with host and NOAA emissary, Al Roker.

The Port approved FREDsense Technologies for a pilot project to develop a portable five-in-one field-testing sensor device to provide real-time metals analysis for stormwater monitoring. FREDsense automatically tests levels of aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, and nickel – all of which are known to enter San Diego Bay through stormwater. The system provides real-time data in the field, which is significantly faster than the several weeks necessary to receive traditional laboratory results, allowing for quicker adjustments to Best Management Practices.
 

San Diego Bay Aquaculture is testing if a shellfish nursery, called a FLUPSY, or Floating Upweller System, can be effective in helping address a coast-wide shellfish seed shortage. The FLUPSY is a floating barge that circulates water through compartments or bins holding shellfish, in this case oysters, as they grow from about the size of a red pepper flake to about the size of a quarter when they are ready to go to the farm. The operation of the FLUPSY, combined with the region’s mild weather and nutrient-rich water, offers a competitive advantage over northern shellfish nursery sites because seed to harvest time is reduced up to one year compared to northern locations. After being in the FLUPSY, shellfish will be transported to a farm where it will grow to market size. Approvals to conduct this pilot have been slow to obtain, but San Diego Bay Aquaculture is using the FLUPSY to conduct much needed research for oysters, abalone, and seaweeds, and production is expected to begin this year (2023). The FLUPSY is being more widely recognized after being showcased during a 2023 NBC “Climate Today” series with host and NOAA emissary, Al Roker.

In 2020, ECOncrete joined the Port’s BEI to demonstrate a new design of its tidepool shoreline armoring technology called Coastalock. This technology serves as a replacement for traditional riprap and provides ecological armoring and shoreline stabilization, while also creating well-defined local ecosystems that mimic natural tide pools. The pilot project has been monitored since installation and data demonstrates an increase in biodiversity, species richness, and abundance on ECOncrete’s Coastalock units compared to the traditional riprap. Through the Port’s pilot, Coastalock units have achieved technological validation and units have since been deployed in new projects around the world. Additionally, the Coastalock unit won the 2022 Design Educates Award, the 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Award for Outstanding Airports and Ports Project, and the 2024 Climate Leadership Awards (CLA) from the Climate Registry for the Innovative Partnership Category.

Zephyr Debris Removal joined the BEI aiming to demonstrate the effectiveness and scalability of its custom-made, debris-removing vessel in San Diego Bay. The vessel uses skimming technology and is designed to remove marine debris, such as plastic bottles and other trash, and solve a variety of logistical hurdles including efficient removal of small debris and access to shallow and/or rough water. During the pilot project, Zephyr collected 33,000 pounds of debris and developed a database for key variables influencing marine debris accumulation in San Diego Bay – such as seasons, weather events and tidal swings. Zephyr went on to collect an additional 77,000 pounds of debris during a follow-on contract with the Port. In total, Zephyr removed 110,000 pounds of debris.

Swell Advantage joined the BEI as a technology startup developing operation support tools to assist marina professionals in automating and optimizing their operations and enhancing customer experiences. Since the completion of the pilot project, Swell Advantage has finalized the development of their smart marina app in partnership with a local marina in San Diego Bay, generated sales across North America, and established strategic technology partnerships. The one-year pilot project was completed in collaboration with a local marina in San Diego Bay. In 2019, Swell Advantage teamed up with Square – a payment and point of sale (POS) company – to better service marinas and waterfronts across the U.S. and Canada and meet boaters’ customer service expectations in a digital world.

The Port collaborated with Swedish Company Rentunder to demonstrate whether their Boatwash technology can be a feasible alternative to current in-water hull cleaning practices in San Diego Bay. Rentunder’s entire cleaning process is conducted within the enclosed basin which can accommodate both sailboats and motorboats up to 53-feet in length, is designed to retain residual debris and particulate matter and reduce copper released into bays and harbors. During Phase 1 of the pilot project, Rentunder installed the Boatwash and coordinated three controlled cleaning events and concurrent water quality sampling. For Phase 2, Rentunder is planning to install a new Boatwash with the latest technology, which includes new brushes, improved alignment, a more advanced gate, and an improved filtration unit to collect particulate.