The recently published Handbook for Sea Harvesters seeks to change how aquaculturists view their operations, whether they are an established a commercial business, an emerging small farm, a fisher who also farms as a sideline, or a household growing its own food supply. The handbook, prepared by the independent institution Havhøst, shows how sustainable income streams can be created by farming sustainable aquatic resources, such as the many species of algae and shellfish that already are a growing sector all across Europe and beyond. Regenerative aquaculture supports a holistic approach to the symbiosis that is possible between ecosystems, human lifestyles, and business models.
The founder of Havhøst, Joachim Hjerl, explains that with the Handbook for Sea Harvesters, they try to pass on their positive experiences with regenerative sea farming to coastal fishermen and other local, commercial players. A huge untapped potential in terms of climate and commercial gains existed because for many years people did not have an eye on the necessary interaction between healthy ecosystems and healthy business models. Together with the Association for Low impact Coastal Fishing PO, Havhøst has combined the experience of maritime utility farms with that from coastal fishing to create a series of concrete recommendations on how you, as a commercial actor, can get started with regenerative aquaculture.
Hurdles to small-scale farming exist, such as getting legal permits, but many localities are easing the way when they see how farms can have positive rather than negative environmental impacts. Also, financial assistance is increasingly available from the EU as well as local or national sources. These and other practical issues (for example, what species can I grow and how?) are all addressed in the handbook, which is available at www.havhøst.dk (in Danish only).