Tomás VidalNorth Sea, NetherlandsStarting SoonExample project

Seaweed Protein Pilot, North Sea

Pilot kelp farm trialling seaweed as a scalable, low-carbon protein and feed source.

FoodSeaweedAlt-ProteinPilot

About this project

A plausible mid-high integrity rating (72/100). Kelp-for-protein is supported by a growing body of peer-reviewed evidence and has clear potential for low-carbon, high-impact substitution of feed and protein, but the proposal as written lacks essential methodological, monitoring, governance, and community-detail, producing moderate gaps in measurability and open-science practice.

AI summary by the Ozeaon Climate Intelligence System

Why this integrity score?

The OCIS Integrity Report below explains the reasoning behind the headline score — dimension by dimension — and is readable in full here.

Score Reasoning — Dimensions

The headline score is a weighted sum of six integrity dimensions assessed by the Ozeaon Climate Intelligence System.

Scientific Rigor20% weight
75
The topic (kelp cultivation for protein/feed) has a solid, peer-reviewed evidence base and the pilot framing is appropriate, but the proposal omits experimental design, hypotheses, controls and success criteria.
Open Science15% weight
63
Some expectation that pilot results could be shared, but the proposal provides no explicit commitments to open data, protocols, pre-registration or reproducible code.
Measurability (dMRV)20% weight
70
Kelp biomass, protein yield and environmental indicators are technically measurable with established methods, but the proposal lacks a described monitoring plan, baselines, and QA/QC protocols.
Additionality & Impact15% weight
78
Replacing terrestrial feed and providing low-carbon protein is plausibly additional and high-impact at scale, but additionality is not quantified nor is leakage or displacement considered.
Transparency & Governance15% weight
72
Pilot structure implies manageable governance, but the proposal contains no budget breakdown, ownership model, or third-party oversight commitments.
Community & Equity15% weight
74
Kelp projects can create local jobs and co-benefits; however the proposal includes no community engagement plan, benefit-sharing, or social safeguard measures.

Strengths

Topic has a strong scientific and industry context: kelp for protein/feed is actively researched with promising LCA studies.
Pilot framing is appropriate for de-risking scale-up, enabling learning and iterative improvement.
Potential for high climate and ecosystem co-benefits (reduced land-use change, nutrient uptake, habitat structure).

Risks & Gaps

No monitoring, baseline, or QA/QC plans provided — undermines verifiable measurement of biomass, emissions or ecological impacts.
Absence of governance, budget transparency and stakeholder engagement details increases risk of inequitable outcomes and unclear fund flows.
No open-data or reproducibility commitments; results could remain proprietary, reducing scientific and public value.

dMRV Recommendation

Tier

Tier 2 — Operational dMRV

Cadence

Continuous sensor logging; monthly biomass and water-quality sampling; quarterly internal reports; annual external verification; final end-of-pilot synthesis and open-data release.

Recommended

Yes

A Tier 2 operational dMRV balances the pilot’s need for structured, repeatable measurement with cost realism: continuous environmental sensors plus monthly biomass and quarterly verification provide the temporal resolution needed to quantify growth, protein yield, and environmental effects, while LCA and supply-chain logs enable credible additionality and emissions-avoidance claims. Open-data and QA/QC commitments ensure reproducibility and independent verification.

Baseline surveys (bathymetry, benthic habitat, nutrient concentrations) prior to deploymentRegular biomass sampling with lab proximate analysis (protein content, moisture, ash) per harvestFixed in-situ sensors for temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity and nutrient profiling (continuous/attenuated logging)Remote sensing (drone imagery and high-resolution satellite) for farm extent, kelp cover and growth rates

About this project

Generating OCIS summary & integrity report…