BLUE ECONOMY CHALLENGE PHOTO: DAVID BALL, SECONDMUSE BLUE ECONOMY CHALLENGE & AQUACELERATOR Final Report BACKGROUND ““I am inspired by the energy and the diversity of leaders from Why focus on aquaculture? across government and business and the science world and academia joining in the eforts to realize the challenges and opportunites of the Blue Economy.” billion people across the world depend on fsheries producton has fatlined. As the global THE HONORABLE JULIE BISHOP MP, AUSTRALIAN seafood for their economic security and daily seafood demand contnues to increase and the MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS 2 food intake. Aquaculture, which is rapidly supply from fsheries decreases, more and more growing, is already responsible for approximately economic opportunity for new smallholder 50% of the seafood that ends up on our plates. In producers will emerge. the Indian Ocean Region alone, more than 12 million tons of seafood are produced per year Aquaculture is an incredibly unique development through capture fsheries and aquaculture. With tool. It presents an environmentally positve worldwide demand for protein antcipated to approach to addressing food security while skyrocket in the coming decades, aquaculture will providing livelihood opportunites for marginalized play a critcal role in feeding an expected global populatons. Generally, an approach that captures populaton of 9 billion by 2050. Developing those three outcomes would have to be countries do not need an introducton to introduced to target populatons. What truly aquaculture. More than half of the world’s seafood separates aquaculture as a development tool is exports originate in developing countries. For that it is not an interventon: it is a practce that is smallholder seafood producers, the economic and already widespread with massive potental to be food supply pull factors of aquaculture, both developed and scaled. locally and globally, are apparent and atractve. 90% of global aquaculture occurs in the Yet, the reality for many of these producers is that developing world. Yet, smallholder producers from they are being pushed to aquaculture as a means Bangladesh to Tanzania are not set up for success. of survival as fsh supplies are depleted and our These producers struggle to access current environment changes. technologies and capital, while challenged by Wild fsheries around the world are nearing the limited infrastructure and ofen inhibited at the point of collapse. Aquaculture is projected to at policy level. Aquaculture has the potental to be least double in output by 2050 as it replaces wild the environmentally friendly protein source of the sourced seafood. Farmed seafood has already future, but as the industry currently stands, it is in overtaken producton from capture fsheries. Fish need of innovatons to improve efciency, farming enables seafood consumpton (and access sustainability, and long-term viability. Accordingly, to protein) to contnue to increase even as marine we invited innovators worldwide to solve three of its major challenges. 2 3 PHOTO: YURI GRIPAS BLUE ECONOMY CHALLENGE & AQUACELERATOR BACKGROUND What is the Blue What were the 220+ Economy Challenge? submissions we received? Led by the Australian Department of Foreign Afairs and Trade (DFAT) innovatonXchange in partnership with SecondMuse, WWF Australia, and Conservaton X Labs, the Blue Economy Challenge (BEC) was an efort to promote aquaculture solutons in support of development outcomes in economies across the Indian Ocean Region. The three challenge areas were as follows: CHALLENGE 1: Rethinking CHALLENGE 2: New Ocean CHALLENGE3: Sustainable Feed for Aquaculture: Create highly Products: Create new ocean products Design: Introduce new technology nutritonal aquaculture feed that vastly expand the diversity, and practces for aquaculture farmers, replacements that match or improve on sustainability, and quality improving the efciency and the cost and nutritonal performance of of aquaculture products to meet environmental and economic Challenge 1 Challenge 2 Challenge 3 existng feedstock while reducing the growing food security needs sustainability of aquaculture farms. Improvements to supply chain RETHINKING FEED NEW OCEAN SUSTAINABLE burden on the natural environment. while decreasing aquaculture’s efciency can also improve FOR AQUACULTURE PRODUCTS DESIGN environmental footprint. productvity and livelihoods. 30% 19.5% 50.5% Why network-centered innovaton? For the past three years, SecondMuse and environment, helping organizatons truly the iXc have been testng a new approach to understand and believe in each other’s value, development innovaton that moves beyond and working concretely to help advance the the individual, or even the open success of others. call, and brings together diverse networks Rather than focusing on just a small part Submissions included 157 (70%) early stage companies of actors for a more holistc type of problem of a larger problem, we look to systemic solving. With economic growth and poverty and 65 (30%) late stage companies representng the solutons: ways to fx not only one minor reducton as our targets, we know that, in obstacle, but disrupt the global following countries: order to innovate through new feed infrastructure. Big problems call for big solutons, new ocean products, and Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Guatemala, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, solutons. sustainable design, we need to employ Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritus, Mexico, Mozambique, a novel approach that fips traditonal At a programmatc level, this looks like the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Senegal, Seychelles, Singapore, development on its head. development of a network of individuals and South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, UK, US, Vietnam. organizatons tailored to the systemic We believe that global systemic problems problem that we are trying to solve. It begins are, by defniton, too big and complex to with the development of a challenge, be addressed by any one person or entty. demanding a new approach to an old As a result, it becomes necessary to work problem. By thoughtully opening up together to solve them. It is not always easy organizatonal and industry-wide challenges or natural for multple diverse organizatons to the masses, we can unleash the creatve to work together on long-term problems. But we do believe that there are certain potental to make a lastng positve impact, conditons that make it easier to collaborate as people contribute their talents to issues and we help cultvate that. This includes they care deeply about. having people work together in an inspiring The result is faster, beter, and cheaper solutons that will help us meet the growing The Blue Economy Challenge top 20 fnalists demand for protein, while ending hunger, included innovatons from the South African improving economic outcomes, and Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; Bali’s Symbiopro; and University of sustaining our oceans for future generatons. the Philippines at Los Baños. 4 5 BLUE ECONOMY CHALLENGE & AQUACELERATOR BACKGROUND Who were the selected Fellows? The Fellows and the Sustainable Development Goals AGRIPROTEIN MICROSYNBIOTIX LTD. TECHNOLOGIES Algal oral vaccines for The Blue Economy Challenge initally set out to tackle two key Sustainable Development Industrial-scale insect disease management Goals: Goal 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth and Goal 14, Life Below Water. meal protein replacement BASED: In United States and Through the work of the selected innovators, we collectvely address 11 of 17 SDGs. of fshmeal in fsh feed Ireland BASED: In South Africa IMPACT: In Southeast Asia IMPACT: In South Africa With the rapidly growing global countries, with their sustainable populaton, innovaton is needed to spirulina farming technology. contnue to produce enough food to B R I D G I N G SDG 1: EnerGaia, Odyssey Sensors, World ODYSSEY SENSORS keep up with the needs of that INTERNATIONAL Fish/CSIRO, Indian Ocean Trepang, Bridging global populaton. Through their Internatonal Communites, The Recycler, COMMUNITIES A low-cost solar-powered salinity sensor new contract farming model, AgriProtein, SeaPower. Oasis Aquaponic Food EnerGaia is working to meet that SDG 8: EnerGaia, MicroSynbiotX, Odyssey Producton System BASED: In United Kingdom Sensors, The Climate Foundaton, World Fish/ IMPACT: In Bangladesh need while providing economic CSIRO, Indian Ocean Trepang, Bridging BASED: In United States opportunity, partcularly for women Internatonal Communites, The Recycler, IMPACT: In India farmers in rural areas of developing AgriProtein, SeaPower. In many parts of the world, their pilot program, Climate C L I M AT E changing climate has prevented Foundaton is set to make an impact FOUNDATION THE RECYCLER LTD. natural ocean overturning in the Indian Ocean region. Larvae from biowaste circulaton—a process that brings Open water Marine SDG 12: World Fish/CSIRO, The Recycler, nutrient-rich waters to the sea Permaculture Arrays for aquaculture feed AgriProtein surface resultng in aquatc plant BASED: In Tanzania SDG 13: The Climate Foundaton, and animal productvity. With their AgriProtein, SeaPower BASED: In United States IMPACT: In Tanzania IMPACT: In Tanzania marine permaculture arrays, SDG 14: MicroSynbiotX, Odyssey Sensors, Climate Foundaton is restoring The Climate Foundaton, World Fish/CSIRO, Indian Ocean Trepang, The Recycler, overturning circulaton. With the