TAKO - Technology for monitoring biomass in commercial seaweed farming

Technology for monitoring biomass in seaweed farming

How do you measure growth in the ocean—without disturbing it? The project is developing new technology to monitor biomass in seaweed farms, with the goal of providing better data to inform decision-making for a growing blue bioeconomy.

Why this project?

The cultivation of seaweed and algae is identified as a key component of future sustainable food and material production. However, there is currently a lack of effective methods for monitoring growth and biomass in real time.

This makes it difficult to optimize production, plan harvests, and scale up cultivation. For the seaweed industry to grow, better data is needed—directly from the ocean.

Purpose and Objectives

The aim is to develop and test technology that makes it possible to measure biomass in seaweed farms in a reliable and cost-effective manner.

The goal is to:

• develop solutions for continuous monitoring
• improve the information available to growers for decision-making
• contribute to more efficient and scalable production
• Expected effects and results

The project is paving the way for more data-driven seaweed cultivation.

In the long term, this could lead to:

• increased productivity in crops
• reduced uncertainty at harvest
• more efficient use of resources
• enhanced competitiveness for the Swedish seaweed industry