Learn more about The Ocean Age Walk & Talk, Barcelona, 1st Nov 2026

Too many proven ocean solutions never make it past the pilot stage. Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy wants to fix that by replicating what already works: getting tested solutions into many ports, cities, and projects at once, with the funding to match. He’s the CEO of the World Ocean Council and co-founder of Okhtapus. We talk about why procurement slows startups down, how a port finds and buys a new solution, why wastewater is the forgotten piece of the blue economy, and why prevention is so hard to get funded.

Stewart’s bio:

Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy is CEO and Managing Director of the World Ocean Council and co-founder of Okhtapus. He was previously Global Director of Policy and Investments at the Resilient Cities Network and interim executive director of the Ocean Sewage Alliance. During the Obama administration he was partnerships director for the Hurricane Sandy task force and earlier worked on recovery with a tribal community on the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. He coined the term “precovery” for doing the resilience work before disaster hits.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:08 - “Turdles”
00:04:15 - Wastewater as the forgotten piece of the blue economy
00:08:05 - What decentralised wastewater treatment looks like
00:15:40 - Precovery and the disaster, rebuild, repeat treadmill
00:21:15 - Blue Mind and why access to water should not be a privilege
00:30:15 - Why so many proven ocean solutions stall at the pilot stage
00:40:25 - The three hearts of Okhtapus: innovators, enablers, and funders
00:43:25 - How a port finds and buys a solution
00:51:10 - Why Okhtapus is not an accelerator, and how it makes money
01:01:20 - The World Ocean Council’s new strategy
01:05:50 - Tomorrow Blue Economy and the Walk & Talk event in Barcelona

Useful Links & Resources:

Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy on LinkedIn
World Ocean Council: Website, LinkedIn, and Instagram
Okhtapus: Website and LinkedIn
Tomorrow.Blue Economy World Congress
The Ocean Age Walk & Talk
Turtles, not Turdles, Stewart’s article for the Ocean Sewage Alliance
Blue Mind by Wallace J. Nichols

Get in touch with The Ocean Age’s host Fed DeGobbi on LinkedIn, X or by emailing directly at fed@oceanage.co

Please send in your feedback: what do you want to hear more or less of? Any suggestions? Would love to hear what you think!

Here is my wide-ranging conversation with Mike Williamson, one of the first seaweed farmers in north America and the CEO of Cascadia Seaweed, one of the largest provider of ocean cultivated seaweed in North America (full bio below).

He told me some really compelling stories about starting as a pioneer seaweed farmer and entrepreneur in British Columbia (Canada). Cascadia Seaweed decided early on to start farming their own seaweed and then focus on 3 main verticals: seaweed for making plant-based food products (e.g. seaweed snacks), feed additives for cows to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, extracting chemicals and dietary supplements from seaweed in a sustainable way.

We looked into the importance of scale and the role of small businesses in the seaweed industry, with some great advice for seaweed entrepreneurs.

Mike shared his experience and learnings with the branding aspects of developing seaweed products, testing them and bringing them to market - covering topics such as changing people perception and expanding the consumer acceptance and awareness of seaweed.

We then launched into a deep dive around seaweed processing: from harvesting, freezing and extracting ingredients (bio-refining). He explained how seaweed doesn’t behave like any other land-based vegetables and the challenges that this brings to the processing stages, creating a need for specialised machinery and innovation in this area, which is strongly supported by collaboration with other seaweed entrepreneurs.

Useful Links:

Cascadia Seaweed's website
Cascadia Seaweed's on LinkedIn
Mike Williamson on Linkedin
Seaweed Around The Clock

Books (mentioned during the episodes):

Slime by Ruth Kassinger - How Algae Created Us, Plague Us, and Just Might Save Us Paperb

Mike Williamson's bio:

Mike is a founding partner and the CEO of Cascadia Seaweed. Mike has had a long relationship with the sea. Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, he proudly served in the Royal Canadian Navy for over thirty years. He had a number of shore-based, sea-going (under-sea) and overseas postings, culminating with three years as Commander of Canada’s west coast Naval Base. In the last ten years, he has been an entrepreneur and leader of a number of marine oriented companies encompassing energy, security, education and the environment. Mike brings this experience, along with a BSc (Math/Physics) and an MBA, to his current role.

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As the founder of BioMara, a marine biotech startup based in Scotland, Jay Dignan is dedicated to transforming regenerative seaweed into functional and healthy B2B ingredients for the food and wellness industries. His professional journey began in New Zealand and includes a diverse range of experiences, from deep-sea salvage and working with Tibetan yak wool to media mergers and acquisitions.

Jay has over two decades of cross-disciplinary experience as a founder, CFO, and strategic consultant. His self-described "squiggly" career path was complemented by an MBA from a UK university. He is passionate about seaweed's potential to contribute to a sustainable future and help feed the world. Jay is focused on finding synergies among researchers, innovators, investors, and business leaders to help realise the promise of the seaweed industry for a healthier planet and healthier people.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:44 - Jay's Background and “Squiggly” Career Path
00:06:50 - The Importance of Diverse Experiences
00:10:33 - The Role of an MBA in an Entrepreneur's Journey
00:14:03 - The Tibetan Yak Herder Experience
00:20:31 - The Challenges of the Western Seaweed Industry
00:24:54 - Frustrations Faced as an Ocean Entrepreneur
00:34:25 - The Founding of BioMara and Its Business Model
00:41:02 - Developing and Validating the biorefinery System
00:43:43 - Understanding BioMara's Core Products
00:46:40 - The Potential of Fucoidan in Human Health
00:54:19 - Lessons from the Ashwagandha and Manuka Honey Markets
00:58:55 - The "Health by Stealth" Approach
01:09:18 - The Process of Building a Founding Team
01:12:54 - A Call to Action for Food and Nutraceutical Companies

Useful Links & Resources:

Jay Dignan on LinkedIn

BioMara’s website: Food & Wellness. Products: Seafibrex & Thalivra & Revyntra

BioMara on Linkedin

Biomara’s White Paper on Fucoidan

Scientific paper by BioMara’s team with an overview of fucoidan, its applications and extraction technique.

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Get in touch with The Ocean Age's host Fed DeGobbi on ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠, ⁠⁠X⁠⁠ or by emailing directly at fed@oceanage.co

The Ocean Age Podcast is produced by Charlotte Raffo and edited by Nebojsa Lešević. Sarah Carpenter and Giulia Leanza are our research assistants. Eliana Caragia manages Distribution and Engagement.

Please send in your feedback: what do you want to hear more or less of? Any suggestions? Would love to hear what you think!

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Harry Wright is the Founder and Director of Bright Tide. Harry studied law and practised in the private sector for ten years. It was there he saw the potential to harness the ingenuity and resources of the private sector to help solve global conservation issues, inspiring him to launch Bright Tide. Harry has extensive knowledge of conservation issues, international law and social entrepreneurship, regularly giving lectures and leading workshops for both the private and education sectors. Harry is also the founder of The Conservation Project International, senior board member of Back2Business International, Advisor at Oceanovation, Trustee at the Seahorse Trust and a board member at the United Nations Westminster Association.

Check out ⁠⁠Inside Seaweed Newsletter⁠⁠! Just one short email per month, no spam and you can cancel at any time. If you'd like to give it a try, head over to ⁠⁠insideseaweed.com ⁠⁠

Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:00 - Harry's Background and Current Work
00:02:22 - The Reality of Entrepreneurial Success
00:04:45 - Transition from Law to Environmental Focus
00:10:46 - The Role of Legal Advice in Entrepreneurship
00:12:02 - Balancing Profit and Environmental Impact
00:14:10 - Successful Business Models in Seaweed and Blue Economy
00:17:00 - Common Success Factors in Seaweed Businesses
00:20:11 - Potential of Seaweed in Environmental Impact
00:22:38 - Overview of Bright Tide and Its Services
00:27:05 - Support Needs for Entrepreneurs in Seaweed Industry
00:34:03 - Regenerative Farming and Its Importance
00:37:07 - Link Between Aquaculture and Regenerative Farming
00:44:30 - Investment Landscape in Seaweed Industry

Useful Links:

Harry Wright on ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠.
Bright Tide: ⁠⁠Website⁠⁠, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
The Regenerative Farming Accelerator Programme

Events:

• Bright Tide Venture Showcase at Barclays' officers on 24th May 2024 in Canary Wharf, London
• Groundswell - The Regenerative Agriculture Festival: 26th-27th June 2024

Sponsors:

Alvan Blanch: Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn

Get in touch on ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, Instagram or by emailing me directly at fed@insideseaweed.com - Please send in your feedback: what do you want to hear more or less of? Any suggestions? Would love to hear what you think!

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