It is not always easy to find examples that combine environmental vision, economic viability, and real ability to scale. SeaForester is one of those rare cases and, for this reason, deserves attention.

Founded in 2016, SeaForester was born from a simple and unsettling realisation: kelp forests, the largest marine plant ecosystem on the planet, are disappearing at an alarming rate. These underwater forests are critical for biodiversity, carbon capture, water quality, and the regeneration of fish populations. Their loss is not just an environmental problem; it is a long-term economic and social problem.

What makes SeaForester particularly interesting is the pragmatic way in which it has decided to tackle a problem of enormous scale. Instead of highly complex and expensive solutions, he developed a simple, replicable, and efficient method: grow kelp on small natural rocks, in nurseries on land, and then spread them on the seabed from fishing boats. No divers, no heavy machinery, no major impacts. An elegant solution to a complex problem.

Portugal appears here not by chance. The company is based in a region where these forests have practically disappeared and has obtained the necessary permits to start their recovery. Today, with an international team of marine biologists and business experts, SeaForester is working in various parts of the Portuguese coast, with particularly encouraging results in the Guia area of Cascais, where plants that are almost two years old are already fully fixed and reproducing naturally.

This is a good example of how the blue economy can work when it is no longer just talking. SeaForester does not just talk about impact, it measures it, reports on it, and builds collaboration models with municipalities, companies and institutions that want to invest in ocean recovery with concrete results.

The support of BlueInvest, the European investment and innovation platform for the blue economy, was a turning point. Through the capital raising support program, the company was able to raise €1.6 million from partners such as WWF and Schmidt Marine Technology Partners. More than funding, this support helped to structure a vision of scale, something essential when we talk about ecosystem restoration.

The next step is ambitious and makes perfect sense: international expansion. SeaForester is preparing new rounds of funding and developing mobile nurseries that will allow this model to be taken to other geographies. In partnership with Norwegian companies, it is also working on kelp varieties that are more resistant to different temperatures, anticipating a changing ocean.

For me, this is a clear example of how Portugal can be at the centre of global solutions without losing connection to the territory. The blue economy is not an abstract concept. It is applied science, it is innovation, investment and it is intergenerational responsibility. SeaForester shows that restoring the sea is not only possible. It can be a serious, scalable economic strategy with real impact.