Kelp cultivation project in early stages of commercial-scale operations

Eba Kandovazu

2024-11-20

LUDERITZ, 15 NOV (NAMPA)-Kelp Blue Seaweed Specialist Michael Fleischman and Kelp Blue Deputy Operations Manager Iriya Jona. (Photo by: Eba Kandovazu)

LÜDERITZ, 20 NOV (NAMPA) - Kelp Blue, a project in Lüderitz facilitated by the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB), is progressing well and has reached the early stages of commercial-scale operations.
It grows and harvests kelp to enhance marine biodiversity, capture carbon, and create sustainable raw materials. The project cultivates giant kelp forests in the nutrient-rich waters of the Benguela Current.
“This makes the kelp grow very fast, all year round. Kelp Blue considers it the best place in the world to grow kelp,” NIPDB spokesperson Titus Shivute said during a recent media tour.
According to the company’s founder, Daniel Hooft, Kelp Blue is currently conducting trials to secure product registration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform for a bio-stimulant product intended to be used in agriculture as a safe and organic substitute for fertilisers.
With an investment totaling N.dollars 160 million, Kelp Blue has expanded since its pilot phase in 2021 and now employs 92 staff members, 96 per cent of whom are Namibian, with 48 per cent being women.
Hooft told journalists that six per cent of the total budget is allocated to staff training.
He further explained that Kelp Blue’s planting and harvesting of giant kelp forests off the coast helps to increase marine biodiversity and create sustainable input materials for multiple industries.
Kelp Blue operates under an Environmental Clearance Certificate issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism in 2021 and renewed in March 2024. The company also has an aquaculture permit from the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources which was issued in February 2022.
(NAMPA)
EB/EK/HP/AS

LUDERITZ, 15 NOV (NAMPA)-Kelp Blue Founder, Daniel Hooft. (Photo by: Eba Kandovazu)

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