GreenWave

Background and History

GreenWave was founded in 2014 by Bren Smith, a former commercial fisherman who had shifted from lobster and oyster harvesting to seaweed cultivation after cod stocks were depleted off the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Smith, who has described his early career as environmentally destructive, developed a “3D ocean farming” model on his 20-acre Thimble Island Ocean Farm in Long Island Sound, Connecticut, combining shellfish and kelp cultivation on vertical rope structures. The nonprofit formalized this approach to scale the model beyond Smith’s operation, initially targeting New England before expanding to California, Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest. ^{1 5 6 7}

Activities

GreenWave operates through training programs, digital platforms, and innovation partnerships to facilitate the launch and scaling of ocean farms. Its Regenerative Ocean Farming Hub provides free online toolkits for site planning, permitting, and business development, alongside a community forum for farmer collaboration. The organization reports having trained over 900 individuals since 2017 through webinars, workshops, and internships, with a waitlist exceeding 5,000 prospective farmers. Seaweed Source, a verification platform operated by the group, connects growers, processors, and buyers across the U.S. and Canada. In 2023, GreenWave disbursed $890,915 in grants to support farm infrastructure and seed production. ^{1 5 8}

The group reported receiving $500,000 in government grants in 2023. ⁸

Kelp Climate Fund

GreenWave administers the Kelp Climate Fund, which subsidizes farmers at $1 per foot of kelp planted, up to $25,000 per farm, in exchange for data on yields and ecosystem services such as nitrogen removal and habitat creation. Launched as a pilot in 2021, the fund had distributed a total of $1.4 million to 70 farms by 2024, aiming for $1 million annually by 2026 to incentivize 50 to 60 operations planting 1 million feet of kelp. ^{9 10 11}

The organization also collaborated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to create open-source recipes for kelp processing and partners with wholesalers to address supply chain gaps. GreenWave’s efforts have facilitated sales in sectors like food, bioplastics, and cosmetics, with 59 businesses using Seaweed Source for contracts by 2024. ^{9 12}

Policy Stances

GreenWave Organization Corp advocates for expanded aquaculture permitting and federal incentives for regenerative farming, including subsidies for blue carbon credits and nutrient pollution reduction. It supports legislation like the Science-based Equitable Aquaculture Food Act (SEAfood Act) to streamline offshore permitting and to “foster and encourage more offshore aquaculture development.” ¹³  The group also reports working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on sensor technology for site modeling and has urged policymakers to prioritize Indigenous and low-income communities in industry growth. ^{9 14 15 10}

The group has been profiled as an example of a circular economy project by the U.K.-based Ellen MacArthur Foundation. ¹⁵

Grantmaking and Funding

GreenWave issued $890,915 in sub-grants to farmers in 2023 for equipment and training. The group’s revenue has grown steadily, from $406,977 in 2016 to $7.67 million in 2024. Major funders include the Pershing Square Philanthropies, the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, and the TreadRight Foundation. ^{5 2 11}

Leadership

Bren Smith works as co-executive director of GreenWave Organization Corp and is a former commercial fisherman. He is also a Yale University lecturer and author of “Eat Like a Fish,” which promotes seaweed as a sustainable protein source. Emily Stengel, the other co-executive director, oversees operations and has a background in roles at environmental startups. The board includes Ayana Johnson, a marine biologist and co-founder of the Urban Ocean Lab, who advocates equitable ocean policy; Dune Lankard, an Indigenous activist; and Curt Ellis, a documentary filmmaker focused on food systems. ^{1 16}