Location: Animal Production and Protection
Project Number: 0208-32000-001-042-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 30, 2021
End Date: Sep 29, 2026
Objective:
Conduct and review research to help meet USDA obligations under the 2019 Fiscal Year Appropriations Bill as follows: SEC. 770. (a) The Secretary of Agriculture, in coordination with the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shall establish a working group (referred to in this section as the ‘‘working group’’)— (1) to study how mangroves, kelp forests, tidal marshes, and seagrass meadows could help deacidify the oceans; (2) to study emerging ocean farming practices that use kelp and seagrass to deacidify the oceans while providing feedstock for agriculture and other commercial and industrial inputs; and (3) to coordinate and conduct research to develop and enhance pilot-scale research for farming of kelp and seagrass in order— (A) to deacidify ocean environments; (B) to produce a feedstock for agriculture; and (C) to develop other scalable commercial applications for kelp, seagrass, or products derived from kelp or seagrass. (b) The working group shall include— (1) the Secretary of Agriculture; (2) the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; (3) representatives of any relevant offices within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and (4) the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. (c) Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the working group shall submit to Congress a report that includes— (1) the findings of the research described in subsection (a); (2) the results of the pilot-scale research described in subsection (a)(3); and (3) any policy recommendations based on those findings and results.
Approach:
In partnership with the Federal Working Group on Research for Farming Kelp and Seagrass, identify gaps in research related to the capacity for seaweeds and seagrasses to de-acidify the oceans and opportunities to use farmed seaweeds and seagrasses in livestock feeds and other commercial uses. Develop a report entitled, “Opportunities for Environmental and Economic benefits from the Farming of Kelp and Seagrass in the United States” based on pilot-scale research projects and reviews of peer-revised literature, including recommendations for future research.
