Helsinki, September 13, 2026. Mark this date on your calendar now. In collaboration with Revision Chef, we’re inviting chefs, researchers, and artists to a full day of events centered on a regenerative Baltic Sea theme. More details about the program will be available soon.

Det växer Ulva! På våra odlingar vid fiskodlingarna i Brändö har tillväxten kommit igång och i mikroskopet ser vi luft i trådarna. Det är inte alltid helt lätt att se vad det är som växer med blotta ögat!

Not only have we conducted greenhouse experiments in collaboration with HAMK, but we’re also testing more advanced extraction techniques, such as ultrasound-assisted extractions. Naturally, we were interested in seeing how these tests were conducted, so we visited their laboratories to observe their work.

We are very pleased that yet another of Finland’s best restaurants—Restaurant Savoy—is partnering with us to feature seaweed and algae on its menus.

https://savoyhelsinki.fi/fi

Together with Arcada, LAB, the University of Borås, and the University of Latvia, we are participating in a project to develop new educational modules in the blue bioeconomy. It’s a fun group, and we always exchange new insights when we meet. This early summer, the focus was on biomaterials and composites.

Together with Tomas Träskman at Arcada, we wrote a joint article on biodiversity credits. You can find it here:

https://tki.fi/biodiversity-credits-facing-deep-uncertainty/

The Åland Fish Farmers’ Association has decided to continue developing the project involving the co-culture of algae alongside fish farms in Åland. A project to scale up the cultivation and conduct a fish feed trial has been granted funding from the EHFVF, and we are pleased to be responsible for the cultivation, harvesting, and drying in this project as well.

What many people don’t know is that the Oslo Fjord and the Baltic Sea have a great deal in common, even though they are so different. Over the years, we’ve been in touch with Marinreparatørene in Oslo, followed their work, and supported each other whenever we’ve had the chance. We’d never visited them, though, and now it was time. We had a wonderful time together, and our collaboration continues with a focus on food.

The Blekinge Archipelago Biosphere Reserve has a number of different projects underway in Ronneby and Saxemara. Naturally, algae are also part of their activities. With that mission in mind, we traveled down there for two intensive days to hold a workshop on how to use algae and how they can be integrated into children’s education. We held a lesson on the Baltic Sea, planned an algae raft for Saxemara’s algae growers, and prepared a dinner together packed with algae. It was a fruitful exchange, and we’re now beginning to explore opportunities for future collaboration.

Our long-standing collaboration with the Sven-Erik and Lena Holmberg Foundation resulted this year in the installation of two new mussel rafts—and also a new highlight in the area! A large wooden sculpture of a pike by Arvid Mörn, which will serve as both a reef and a piece of underwater art!

As part of the “Waterways for Marine Biodiversity” project—for which we act as consultants to coordinate the project—we traveled to Utö in the Stockholm archipelago with a group of water property owners and other interested parties from Åland. Thank you to the Initiativ Utö Foundation for your excellent hospitality!

The Cladophora biostimulants developed as part of the Baltic Biostimulants project will be used on the course at Hirsala Golf this year, following the successful greenhouse trials last winter! This is a major milestone for both the Baltic Sea and our project!

Since we need to increase the amount of available Cladophora for testing and collaborations, we set up our own rigs on Brändö this spring.

The farms at Baltic Biostimulants are set up for the year, and Joel got to spend some time in the water in Korpo! A sculpin came by to say hello, which of course always brightens up the day.

Every year, Dagens Industri and Aktuell Hållbarhet organize an event for the Swedish business community to showcase solutions for strengthening biodiversity. This year, we had the opportunity to participate and share our insights on how to build a regenerative business and have the Baltic Sea as a stakeholder.

As part of our collaboration with AxFoundation, we have deployed one of our rigs in Lake Fysingen at their test site, Torsåkra Gård. In this test, we’ll see if the green algae growing in the lake attaches to the ropes in the same way it does in our marine environments. This is a very exciting project that can provide us with data on the growth of green algae in lakes and how it can be used for future materials.

Three years at Björkskär, three years of learning. Three companies working together. The discussion centered on these themes during the panel discussion at EnergiArena, which is organized annually in Blomstringe by the hosts, Redrock. More information can be found here: https://redrockenergy.ax/energiarena

These are exciting times in Liepāja, Latvia, where Joel has been invited to share more about the work being done in Åland regarding coexistence and offshore wind power, algae cultivation, nature-based solutions, algae product development, and marine biodiversity credits. Here, too, there are problems with seaweed washing ashore, and there are synergies between Baltic Biostimulants and the organizations working on blue development in Latvia.

Over the winter and spring, Joel, together with Martin Pilstjärna and Lisa Wärn, has planned and established the Nordic Nature Market Initiative. The reason is that there is a clear need for an organization that serves as a bridge and a source of knowledge among all stakeholders in the Nordic nature finance market. Over the years, the organization will grow and create new opportunities for organizations working with nature finance in the Nordic region. More information can be found here: www.nnmi.io

Together with Mirka, we are now beginning to explore the possibilities of using algae from the Baltic Sea in a variety of industrial applications. In everything from textiles, biocomposites, resins, paints, adhesives, sand substitutes, and other bio-based materials, algae play a role in phasing out fossil-based products. Through this collaboration, we can find local solutions that both create products and help clean up the Baltic Sea. Read more here: https://www.mirka.com/en/company/news/mirka-explores-regenerative-materials/

Greenhouse tests for our biostimulant have been underway at the HAMK (Häme University of Applied Sciences) research greenhouse since the end of January. We are already beginning to see some results, even though we are only halfway through the tests. At the moment, things are looking promising for our extracts made from Cladophora.

This is now our third consecutive year participating in Mission Restore Our Oceans and Waters in Brussels as the only organization representing Åland on site. As always, we’re putting Åland on the map and building new partnerships across Europe to help us save and protect our oceans and marine species, as well as build a sustainable bioeconomy.

We are very excited to share the news that Projekt Björkskär AB has been founded with Under Ytan as a partner. When we started Projekt Björkskär three years ago, we didn’t know that the project would one day become a company, but as the years went by, it felt more and more natural. A new era for ecosystem-enhancing marine solutions has begun.

During the Verkot Vesille event, Joel inspired and spoke to students at Turku University of Applied Sciences who are working on water issues about how to build regenerative businesses that work to improve the Baltic Sea.

The first year of the Mussels for the Baltic Sea project, funded by the Sven-Erik and Lena Holmberg Foundation, has been completed. You can read more about the project in the annual report coming soon.

We are initiating a collaboration with Dansk Tang to conduct cultivation and restoration development of Sea Lace (Chorda filum) and Bladderwrack (Fucus vesiculosus) in the Baltic Sea, drawing on their expertise in propagation techniques for these species.

The analysis results in the Baltic Biostimulants project show that our seaweed extracts contain neither microplastics nor heavy metals!

Joel represents the Society for Ecological Restoration's marine restoration group at the marine restoration event in Dublin. The event is held for all European member states and interest groups to assist them in their work on nature restoration plans.

We are delighted to take on the role of consultant to the Government of Åland for the Waterways for Marine Diversity project. More info coming thorughout the years

Thank you, Baltic Sea Fund, for a very enjoyable evening and for the opportunity to combine seaweed and algae from both the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on plates and in glasses for all guests. Congratulations to all the award winners for the good work you do for the Baltic Sea.

The fact that the green algae Ulva sp. would grow so well on our rigs came as a surprise in our project with the Åland Fish Farmers' Association. Within the project, we are testing IMTA farming, or Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture, where nutrients from fish farming are used to cultivate macroalgae and mussels. The project is two years long and has already given us very valuable results from the 10 different locations where we have set up our test rigs.

This year's “Green Beanie” is now represented in four of the ten highest-ranked restaurants in Finland. You can buy them at SALT and Sjöfartsmuseet. Contact us if you would like to know more. Johan.tornqvist@underytan.fi

We are participating in Baltic Sea Solutions 2025 in Stockholm with seaweed on the plates and in the glasses. For all presentations from the day, see link.

Seaweed tea! How does our seaweed taste together with forest tea from Thailand? On September 17th, our collaboration with our friends at Monteaco starts. This fall, a unique product will be on the market. Congratulations.

The first harvest in our project with the fish farmers at Brändö provided an interesting answer. The hemp ropes work.

Our biostimulant project is featured on Swedish Yle.

A few months ago, we were given a very exciting project assignment to build and launch mussel rigs made of natural materials. These rigs will serve as a mussel buffet for eider ducks and their ducklings in the critical stage after hatching, when they are vulnerable to predator attacks. In combination with other protective measures, the aim is to provide the eider ducks and ducklings with food closer to land, where they are better protected. The project is a three-year initiative led by the Archipelago Pares r.f. association.

We are now also working to put the Baltic Sea on the map within Europe. With Joel now being elected as Vice-Chair of the Marine Restoration Group at the Society for Ecological Restoration Europe, we have the opportunity to work with the Baltic Sea in a broader perspective. We are humbly grateful for this first-hand assignment and we hope for many good synergies to improve and strengthen our common seas and its species.

Premiere. A short film about the work we do for the Baltic Sea. Watch the film here on Youtube.

Björkskär Annual Report 2024. We improve our pilots and achieve even better results. We also launch the first Biocredit project in the Baltic Sea. Download the report here.

Green Beanie - official non-alcoholic drink at ORC. Our drinks met a new audience at the regatta in Mariehamn. International guests from around thirty countries participated.

We create functioning ecosystems. Our prototypes are working! Dives in August show great progress The combination of bladderwrack and mussels attracts seaweed shrimps. The key to new ecosystems.

BioBuz - a unique research project on Björkskär. We are developing a new credit system for biodiversity in the Baltic Sea. Read more here.

Season start up. We have now checked how the harsh ice conditions have affected placement and vegetation this winter. Everything looks good. In the picture you see Joel and some of our prototypes. The temperature was 1.8 degrees Celsius at a depth of two metres. The season on Björkskär has started.

The Baltic Sea is beautiful. We see it every day. The Baltic Sea is magic. Below the surface. We want to share that feeling. Adam interprets the music that a school of herring creates like this. Fiskstimm.mp3

Green Beanie sent to her first Michelin restaurant. Our non-alcoholic meal drink made from Blåstång and Ulva is now available at “Grön” in Helsinki.

Björkskär Annual Report 2023. The journey to increased biodiversity has begun. Read about our first year at Björkskär together with OX2 and Nemo Seafarms. We did a lot!  Download: Björkskär Rapport 23 PDF