Foto Santuario de la Naturaleza Bosque del Calabacillo. Source: Hierbas de Mar Project
Oceans play a vital role in tackling climate change and driving the bioeconomy. Chile, with its long coastline and rich marine ecosystems, is especially known for its abundance of seaweed. These macroalgae not only capture large amounts of carbon but also provide raw materials for food, feed, cosmetics, and bio-based products. As such, seaweed is becoming a cornerstone of the blue bioeconomy. This article highlights Chile’s natural advantages, government initiatives, and growing cooperation with Dutch partners to unlock the potential of seaweed for sustainable growth.
The blue economy is a relatively new concept that refers to the sustainable use of ocean and coastal resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and healthy ecosystems. It emerged as an expansion of the green economy, which originally focused on land-based activities and did not include marine and coastal sectors.
Within this framework, the blue bioeconomy represents the intersection with the broader bioeconomy, as it specifically uses biological resources from the ocean – such as seaweed, fish, and microorganisms – for food, feed, bioproducts, and energy. Interestingly, the blue economy is also vital in our fight against climate change, since our oceans cover more than three-quarters of our planet’s surface and sequester large amounts of carbon and excess heat from the atmosphere.
Seaweed's central role
Seaweed plays a central role in the blue economy because it is a renewable marine resource with multiple applications— from food and feed to biostimulants, biomaterials, cosmetics, and even pharmaceuticals. Its contribution to climate change mitigation is also enormous: seaweed is responsible for half of the carbon dioxide captured in the oceans.
Chile has one of the longest coastlines in the world, covering more than 6,400 km. It is the 12th largest fishing country, the second largest aquaculture producer, and ranks sixth in algae production, 97% of which is natural. Almost a third of all macroalgae species can be found in Chile, positioning the country as a global hotspot for sustainable cultivation and innovation. This unique natural endowment gives Chile great potential to develop the blue bioeconomy, attract investment, and become a strategic partner in the international protein transition.
‘Seaweed is responsible for half of the carbon dioxide capture in the oceans, and almost a third of all macroalgae can be found in Chile’
Blue Carbon Roadmap
The Chilean Ministry of the Environment is developing a Blue Carbon Roadmap, which is a strategic 15 year plan that integrates the ocean into the national climate agenda as well as the development of the blue bioeconomy. The roadmap identifies the role of marine ecosystems — especially macroalgae forests — in capturing and storing carbon, and it provides guidance for Chile’s climate commitments under the Paris Agreement and Chile’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). It is publicly available online as a complete PDF via the World Bank and on the UN Chile portal (Propuesta de hoja de ruta para el carbono azul en Chile) ensuring it is an accessible reference for policymakers and stakeholders.
The recommendations in the roadmap are meant for governmental agencies, research institutions, and private actors, with the objective to guide decision-making, investment, and conservation priorities. They include:
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Highlight the importance of the ocean for the blue economy and recovery
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Focus conservation, restoration, and management on macroalgae forests
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Improve biodiversity management through modernization and governance
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Leverage national scientific capacity and infrastructure
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Strengthen international collaboration for ocean climate action
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Enhance the financial framework for mitigation projects
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Protect sinks and carbon sequestration
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Institutionalize the environmental protection of the ocean within the Chilean Ministry of the Environment
Dutch missions
Because of Chile’s potential to develop the blue economy and the government’s focus on this sector, the Netherlands Agricultural Network (LAN) team at the Dutch Embassy in Santiago de Chile has started activities to create opportunities for Dutch stakeholders in Chile’s blue economy.
For Chile, the involvement of Dutch stakeholders is attractive, because the Netherlands has expertise and innovative solutions in sustainable proteins and aquaculture. Dutch companies such as Hortimare bring expertise in seaweed breeding and cultivation systems, while research institutions like Wageningen University & Research, the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), and TNO are advancing biorefinery technologies, marine research, and the valorization of algae into food, feed, biomaterials, and bioenergy. In addition, the Dutch innovation model—based on public–private partnerships and international collaboration—offers a tested framework to accelerate Chile’s transition toward a sustainable blue bioeconomy.
In 2022, Wageningen University visited the National Agricultural Research Institute’s center in southern Chile specialized in livestock and dairy systems to share experiences on the inclusion of seaweed in dairy cow diets, aiming to reduce methane emissions.
At the end of 2023, a group of Dutch companies and research institutions visited Chile (Deltares, Ernst & Young, Hortimare, Nestlé, NIOZ and TNO together with the Dutch ministry and Netherlands Enterprise Agency). Chilean and Dutch stakeholders presented projects, opportunities, and challenges in seaweed production and biotechnology during a successful seminar. For example, Subpesca explained the current Chilean regulatory framework for algae and the CeBiB Biotechnology Center presented research on extracting compounds such as phlorotannins for cosmetics, alginates for diabetes treatments, and seaweed-based biostimulants for agriculture. From the Dutch side, TNO showcased biorefinery projects converting seaweed into energy, biochemicals, and biomaterials, while Hortimare presented its expertise in sustainable cultivation systems and high-quality starting material for algae farming.
More cooperation between Chile and the Netherlands
The Dutch delegation also met artisanal algae producers and universities such as Los Lagos and I-Mar Center. These exchanges opened opportunities for collaboration in areas such as sustainable seaweed cultivation, biorefinery, and alternative proteins. They also laid the groundwork for potential funding applications to support joint research and innovation projects. In this context, the LAN team expressed its support for the continuation of the CeBiB Biotechnology Center as a hub for Chile–Netherlands cooperation in seaweed biotechnology.
Early 2024, the LAN team visited the Algueras de Navidad, a women’s association that collects seaweed and processes it into flour, chips, and cuts of various sizes. On the same day, they received Sernapesca’s (the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service) sustainable certification. This organization comprises approximately 200 women, and the certification not only validates their responsible harvesting practices but also strengthens their positioning in more formal markets.
In addition, at the end of 2024, to showcase algae in food, the LAN team worked with the Culinary Institute and the University of Chile. They organized a cooking contest using ingredients from the Algueras de Navidad. Two Dutch appetizers — kaassoufflés and bitterballen —were made with seaweed. The winning chef, from a renowned restaurant in Concón, later added a seaweed dish inspired by bitterballen to the menu.
Challenges in the blue economy
Although potential is high, challenges remain. María Elena Lienqueo, senior researcher at the CeBiB Center, notes that the biggest challenges are regulatory. There is no specific regulation for seaweed processing. Instead, rules are adapted from other marine products, such as fish, which are regulated through freezing requirements, and shellfish, which require cooking or sterilization. These standards do not correspond to seaweed, which needs gentler processing methods such as drying or controlled-temperature extraction to preserve its functional properties.
Lienqueo also highlights the valuable properties of algae. At the CeBiB Center, research focuses on extracting phlorotannins for cosmetics, alginates for diabetes medicine, and chemical compounds in seaweed-based biostimulants for agriculture. These examples illustrate how the blue bioeconomy can replace fossil-based or synthetic inputs with renewable bio-based alternatives across diverse sectors such as health, agriculture, and industry.
Chilean expert in coastal resources and environment Alejandro Bushmann points out another challenge: market access. Demand for algae-based products must grow in both volumes and value to sustain the business and make seaweed cultivation economically viable. Only stronger demand and higher value can underpin sustainable and viable seaweed cultivation in Chile. In recent years, companies such as Patagonia Biotecnologia and Biogram have begun establishing themselves in southern Chile in the biostimulants sector, signaling growing investor interest in algae-based opportunities.
Call to action
The Dutch Embassy and the LAN team in Chile play an active role in connecting Dutch and Chilean stakeholders by organizing innovation missions, seminars, field visits to research centers and artisanal producers and supporting cooperation hubs such as the CeBiB Biotechnology Center. They also facilitate networking and funding opportunities for joint projects between Dutch companies and research institutions and their Chilean counterparts.
Looking ahead, Chile has the potential to become a global leader in the blue bioeconomy, thanks to its unique macroalgae biodiversity, its long coastline, and the growing number of companies and research initiatives in this field. Challenges remain in terms of regulation, market access, and scaling cultivation, but the opportunities for sustainable innovation are significant.
Now and in the future, the LAN team will continue to connect Dutch and Chilean stakeholders, so they can unlock together the full potential of the blue bioeconomy.
More information
Would you like to know more about the role that seaweed plays in Chile’s blue bioeconomy? You can visit the country page of Chile at the website Agroberichtenbuitenland.nl of the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LVVN). You can also send an email to the LAN team at the Dutch Embassy in Santiago de Chile: stg-lvvn@minbuza.nl.
