Dharmendra Kapletia

“Pioneering leaders in DG MARE have argued that the future is not just sustainable or restorative, it is ‘regenerative’, meaning we give back to nature more than we take.”

Dr Dharmendra Kapletia

Project Name: Community Driven Farming for the Atlantic and Arctic Sea Basins Through REgeneRative Aquaculture (C-FAARER)

Problem addressed by the research

Existing extractive ocean farming practices are unsustainable. European nations are under pressure to find new ways of exploiting the blue economy to meet economic and social goals and feed growing populations.

Project description

The EU Mission Oceans–funded C-FAARER project (Community Driven Farming for the Atlantic and Arctic Sea Basins Through REgeneRative Aquaculture), a transdisciplinary collaboration between Trinity Business School and the School of Natural Sciences, has spent two years engaging with ocean farmers in Ireland and Norway to assess the feasibility of regenerative seaweed farming and sustainable business models that give coastal communities a stronger stake in their future. Ocean farmers across Ireland and Norway live in remote locations, often in harsh conditions, and are part of communities that have faced declining fish stocks and an exodus of young people. The C-FAARER team, led by Dr Dharm Kapletia, delivered workshops, forums and interviews from 2023–2025 to amplify farmers’ voices and bring their experiences to policy-makers in the EU, Ireland and Norway.

Project outcomes so far

Dr Kapletia brought the Norwegian Seaweed Association and its farmers to Ireland to share their experiences and support establishing an Irish equivalent Association to better represent ocean farmers and catalyse interest in regenerative farming. Project activities included drafting terms-of-reference for the new Irish Seaweed Association, appointing a Board of Directors, and delivering a TBS launch event (April 2025) that received widespread coverage. Supported by consortium colleagues, Dr Kapletia and the School of Natural Sciences team also led a white paper roadmap with insights and recommendations for Europe, and delivered a short training module on regenerative ocean farming.

For more information

• Project Website: www.c-faarer.eu
• Launch of the Irish Seaweed Association (ISA)
• Project Award: Project Video: Regenerating our Oceans: The Role of Seaweed Farming in Europe’s Future Blue Economy