$320,000 in seed grants is backing a Rosenstiel School project to convert beached sargassum into aquaculture feed and fertilizer using black soldier fly larvae.
The team is testing whether larvae and worms can strip arsenic from the seaweed, while a controlled rearing system aims to cut pathogens and keep inorganic arsenic from re-entering soils or waterways.
Their approach targets a worsening Florida problem: since 2011, sargassum from the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt has shifted from a seasonal event to recurring beach inundations that release hydrogen sulfide and hurt tourism.
Modular, containerized fly-rearing units are the next step, with researchers seeking more funding to process large volumes in coastal communities across Florida and the wider Caribbean.
Can hungry insect larvae truly erase Florida's toxic seaweed crisis without secretly passing dangerous arsenic up the seafood supply chain?
Could turning foul-smelling beach waste into a lucrative protein source inadvertently mask the deeper ecological crisis fueling these massive ocean blooms?