SailGP will help protect the fragile coastal ecosystems of Singapore from algal blooms as part of its local impact project in the city.
The league has teamed up with the Ocean Purpose Project, a Singapore-based social enterprise intent on solving ocean pollution with nature-based solutions, as well as creating innovative approaches to the ocean plastics crisis.
As part of the local impact project, SailGP will fund Ocean Purpose Project to deploy 100 mussel and seaweed lines around a fish farm in Northern Singapore, in the beach town of Pasir Ris. These lines act as natural biofilters to cleanse the water of chemicals such as nitrates and ammonia, reducing the incidence of algal blooms, which produce toxins,drastically reduce oxygen supplies in the water and cause serious health issues for marine life.
The funding will support the monitoring of the lines, as well as measuring the water quality across a six month period and address the lack of data that exists in the South East Asian region about bioremediation and keeping oceans clean of chemicals through the power of nature.
This project aligns with Singapore’s 30 by 30 food security goals by keeping the ocean environment clean for Singapore’s domestic seafood suppliers creating optimal conditions for floating fish farms and furthering Singapore’s food security needs to ensure that at least 30% of food will be locally sourced by 2030.
Elsewhere, SailGP is supporting research around the Ocean Purpose Project’s Plastic to Fuel initiative, which aims to convert single use plastics into hydrogen, low-sulphur fuel through pyrolysis machines.
The league will give the Ocean Purpose Project “pick of choice” of any plastic waste that washes ashore or is found at the SailGP Tech Site and SailGP event site to be used to further their groundbreaking plastic to hydrogen research.
Talking about the project, SailGP’s purpose and impact project manager Rosie Gosling said: “Leaving a positive impact at the venues where we operate is a key priority for us at SailGP, and we are thrilled to be working with the Ocean Purpose Project in Singapore on this project helping to prevent algal blooms which can be so damaging to fish and mammals in the water.
"The work that they are researching and implementing is truly inspirational, and we are excited to see how their plastics to hydrogen project develops over the years to come.”
CEO of the Ocean Purpose Project, Mathilda D'Silva, visited the SailGP’s tech site in Singapore and ran a 30 minute Show & Tell session to educate teams on the various 'ocean purpose projects'.
Speaking about the collaboration with SailGP, she said: “Ocean Purpose Project is proud to be SailGP’s impact project for Singapore and promote our oceans as the perfect playground for sports and sustainability.
“As someone who lives with the effect of ocean pollution on a daily basis, this is an amazing platform to galvanize collective action and ingenuity for Asia to turn ocean pollution into solutions.”
This impact project in Singapore is part of SailGP’s year-round purpose-led calendar of sustainable initiatives in which the league collaborates with each venue on the Season 3 tour.
