By Ashwin Murthy, Korey Silverman-Roati & Romany M. Webb,
Carbon dioxide removal is increasingly recognized as a necessary component of global climate mitigation efforts. One emerging method involves the deep-sea sinking of plant biomass to sequester carbon. Sargassum, a free-floating brown seaweed, has been identified as a promising candidate for this approach due to its natural buoyancy and decomposition process, which enables it to sink and potentially store carbon in the deep ocean. With sargassum blooms growing dramatically in the Atlantic since 2011 — posing ecological, economic, and public health risks when they wash ashore — there is growing interest in offshore removal and sinking as a climate solution.
This report examines the legal landscape surrounding the collection and sinking of sargassum in and off the coast of Florida. It outlines three primary methods of sargassum collection and sinking — beach-based, offshore manual collection, and autonomous technologies — and assesses their regulatory implications under state and federal law. Key legal frameworks include Florida state permitting regimes, the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act, and various federal environmental statutes. As part of a broader initiative by the Sabin Center, the report aims to support responsible development of marine carbon dioxide removal by clarifying applicable legal requirements.
Read the report in Columbia Law School's Scholarship Archive repository here.