Project Purpose and Background

Team

DAIKEN Co., Ltd., Taisei Namacon Co., Ltd., Mitoyo City, Takuma Fisheries Cooperative Association, Yamagata Prefecture Fisheries Cooperative Association, and Kamo Fisheries High School.

Challenge

Changes in nutrient levels and rising seawater temperatures are driving the spread of barren grounds and coastal degradation across Japan. The decline of seaweed beds and coastal ecosystems, which serve as nurseries for marine life and stores of blue carbon, is becoming a critical issue.

Vision

We will use and upcycle materials that would otherwise be discarded on land to develop natural marine restoration materials that provide an effective substrate for seaweed growth. This will support the restoration and conservation of marine environments and organisms while creating a sustainable new business.

Implementation

We will develop materials from unused resources, validate them in real marine environments, and build a community-based co-creation platform to establish a sustainable marine restoration business model.

1. Developing and manufacturing natural marine restoration materials

• We develop multiple test materials with structures and compositions suited to seaweed attachment and growth, applying unused-resource technologies and material development expertise.
• We establish a sustainable supply system with low environmental impact in preparation for future commercialization.

2. Field validation and installation in real marine environments

• We build a network of sites that can serve as field laboratories and carry out installation work with local stakeholders.
• We establish a practical system for directly validating material performance under real marine conditions.

3. Monitoring and data analysis

• We continuously monitor the demonstration sites after materials are installed.
• We investigate seaweed attachment, ecosystem recovery, and seaweed-bed formation and evaluate material performance objectively.

4. Project coordination and co-creation ecosystem

• We coordinate the entire demonstration process and manage progress.
• We connect material manufacturers, local companies, municipalities, fisheries cooperatives, and universities and research institutions.
• We design an ecosystem for social implementation and commercialization as a locally rooted marine restoration model.

Future Development and Scale-up

Establishing new materials through field validation

Through real-sea trials, we will identify the most effective specifications from materials with different structures and compositions and establish a product brand dedicated to marine restoration.

Nationwide expansion through a regional circulation model

We will scale a co-creation package of natural materials, monitoring by local companies, and collaboration with municipalities and fisheries cooperatives to coastal regions facing barren grounds and degradation, contributing to marine recovery and blue-carbon creation across Japan.