About the course

The Fishery Friendly Climate Action Campaign is offering a first-of-its-kind training course about marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) for commercial fishermen and their trade association representatives. Members of the shoreside support industry that serve fishing vessels (e.g., seafood companies, gear suppliers) are also eligible. This fisheries-customized course will prepare participants with a basic understanding of the science and technology associated with multiple mCDR approaches, a clear view of the priorities driving mCDR’s advancement, an awareness of the types of people and organizations in the mCDR field, and a readiness to engage with them effectively in multiple decision-making and research settings.

In addition to developing participants’ knowledge of mCDR, the objectives of the course are:

• To prepare participants to educate their fellow fishing community members outside the class about mCDR. By encouraging and coaching participants to share lessons learned with peers in their local ports and fleet, the course will gradually start building a coast-to-coast network of mCDR-informed fishermen who stand equipped to give their industry a strong and informed voice in mCDR research and development. Graduates will act as seeds of knowledge planted throughout the US fishing industry, helping to inform the industry as a whole.

• To prepare participants to interact with members of the mCDR practitioner community as faces of the fishing industry. What you learn in this course will prepare you to provide advice and feedback to mCDR research projects, weigh in on mCDR permit applications, help shape the mCDR field and its research priorities, and engage with policy makers. It is hoped that fishermen and fisheries representatives completing the course will continue their involvement in the Fishery Friendly Climate Action Campaign’s mCDR-related network-building after the course ends.

mCDR is at the early stages right now, but it’s growing quickly. Now is the time for fishermen to get involved. This course will thoroughly prepare you to be one of those fishermen. On behalf of the whole fishing industry, thank you for taking this step!

Course structure

Required course content will include prepared multi-media materials (video, audio, reading), opportunities for asynchronous and synchronous coaching and discussion with the instructor and other course participants, and a final project that each participant must complete in order to put their learning into practice. Participants may choose from two levels:

Level 1: This level is designed for busy fishermen who want to learn the basics of mCDR while managing the demands on their limited time. This level is adequate for participants whose primary goal is to educate their fellow fishermen about mCDR. Level 1 participants will complete eight weekly assignments (~3 hours/week) followed by a final project (~6 hours). The stipend for Level 1 is $1,500.

Level 2: This level is designed for fishermen and industry reps who want to deepen their knowledge about mCDR and position themselves to interact with professionals in the mCDR field. Upon completing the course, these graduates will have the opportunity to be matched with opportunities (and, where possible, with funding) to represent their community in mCDR settings, such as providing solicited feedback on mCDR research agendas and policy frameworks, delivering invited remarks at mCDR professional events, and participating in co-design of specific mCDR research projects. Level 2 participants will complete eight weekly assignments (~4 hours/week) and will prepare and deliver a final project to a group of mCDR practitioners during an online meet-and-greet event (~8 hours). The stipend for Level 2 is $2,000. It is permissible for participants to enter the course at Level 1 and switch to Level 2 mid-course, and vice-versa.

To succeed in this course, participants should have:

• An interest and basic grounding in ocean science and policy

• A computer and/or smartphone, internet connection, and familiarity with Zoom and other common apps

• Time to complete readings/videos and assignments (~3 hours per week for Level 1; ~4 hours per week for Level 2) and a final project

• The ideal candidate is someone who engages in regular communication with their fellow fishermen and/or science and policy audiences about complex issues facing fisheries and oceans

Each weekly module will include three components:

• Learning: You will watch an instructional video prepared by course instructors and read/watch/listen to some additional online materials on your own time.

• Assignment: You will complete an assignment on your own time. This will typically involve doing desk research and making a brief presentation or report-out to the class group, or role-playing a dialogue involving mCDR practitioners, fishermen, or policy makers.

• Sharing: The class group will meet once per week for an hour, where you will share your assignment. However, we know that fishermen have unpredictable schedules; if you cannot attend the live session, you may upload a video of your assignment to a shared location, where other class members will provide feedback asynchronously.

• Additional resources: You will also be provided with some additional resources to peruse if you wish to go deeper. Some of these will be required for those participating in Level 2.

Participants who cannot complete the full course in 8 consecutive weeks of lessons plus a final project will have the option to split their term: in other words, a participant may initiate the course during the fall term and complete it during the spring term, or vice-versa, if doing so works better for their fishing schedule.

Example course plan

• Week 0: Class orientation. Course participants will attend an optional one-hour live session to get to know each other and the course instructor, and to go over course expectations.

• Week 1: The rationale for CDR. Participants will watch a video describing what the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says about the need for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) as a complement to steep greenhouse gas emissions reductions in achieving international climate targets. Participants will be provided with a glossary of relevant concepts. Using desk research, each participant will be asked to profile a terrestrial or engineered CDR method (not marine) through a brief presentation to their fellow course participants, either by attending a live online session or by uploading a video presentation to a shared location accessible only to those enrolled in the course; this will help participants understand the broader CDR universe and where mCDR fits in.

• Week 2: Overview of mCDR methods. Participants will watch a video explaining the ocean’s carbon cycles and the arguments made for including mCDR within a CDR portfolio. Participants will compare five forms of mCDR — ocean alkalinity enhancement, direct ocean capture, ocean fertilization, macroalgae cultivation and sinking, and artificial upwelling and downwelling — and will understand the pros, cons, and knowledge gaps surrounding each one. Using desk research, each participant will be asked to profile an assigned mCDR method through a brief presentation to their fellow course participants, either by attending a live online session or by uploading a video presentation to a shared location accessible only to those enrolled in the course.

• Week 3: Research and field trials. In this module, participants will become familiar with existing and proposed mCDR field trials by watching a video overview and reading/listening to a set of materials about the LOC-NESS ocean alkalinity enhancement field trial that took place in the Gulf of Maine in 2025. Each participant will complete desk research on an additional field trial and will then present their assigned trial to the rest of the class, imagining that they are a field trial researcher presenting to a group of fishermen.

• Week 4: mCDR governance. The objectives of this module are to: (a) understand how mCDR is governed today; (b) identify existing governance gaps and foreshadow how they might be filled in the future; and (c) review codes of conduct and other recommendations for how mCDR research can be undertaken responsibly. Participants will watch an overview video and will read several policy briefs about current and proposed mCDR governance and policy. Each participant will role-play a presentation to a policy maker describing the core principles they believe must inform mCDR governance.

• Week 5: mCDR in the carbon market. The objectives of this module are to: (a) understand the role of different actors in the carbon market supply chain — e.g., suppliers, buyers, registries, and validation and verification bodies; (b) understand how carbon markets work, what purpose they serve, and what role they could play in the scaling of mCDR; and (c) explore non-market approaches to financing and ownership of mCDR as an alternative to the carbon market. Participants will watch a video and complete brief readings related to the key topics and will then profile 1-2 mCDR start-up companies representing current or potential mCDR suppliers. A live online class discussion will center on the pros and cons of relying on carbon markets for scaling mCDR.

• Week 6: Funding and shaping the mCDR field. In this module, participants will get to know the funding and field-building entities that are shaping the growth of the mCDR field. Participants will watch a video featuring half a dozen funders and field builders, and will then explore their websites. As an assignment, participants will imagine that they find themselves at an mCDR conference and will role-play a set of panel remarks or a coffee break conversation with an mCDR funder or field-builder.

• Week 7: Impacts and interactions with fisheries. The objective of this module is to gain insights into data, hypotheses, and knowledge gaps surrounding the impacts and interactions of mCDR with fishery-supporting ecosystems and activities. Participants will watch a video prepared by experts from the ICES Working Group on mCDR Interactions with Ecosystems, Fisheries, and Aquaculture. For their assignment, participants will role-play a scenario in which they are speaking to a permitting agency about fishery-related concerns and/or research questions that should be addressed in a hypothetical mCDR field trial.

• Week 8: Community engagement. The objectives of this module are to (a) learn about the work being done to chart a course for effective community engagement in mCDR; (b) explore the LOC-NESS project as a case study of community engagement; and (c) become familiar with fishermen-led mCDR engagement projects that are already taking place around the world. Participants will watch a video summarizing academic and applied work on community engagement in the context of mCDR, and will read prior guidance and reflections published by members of the U.S. fishing industry. For their assignment, participants will develop a plan for their final project(s) and present this plan to their fellow classmates and the instructor for feedback.

• Final project:

  • Level 1: Participants will create a work product targeted either at informing their fellow fishermen (those not in the course) about mCDR. Examples include a short article in a fishing association newsletter, a pamphlet for distribution at a fisheries trade show, or an explanation delivered to a participant’s fellow fishermen at the dock or local coffee shop. These projects will be reviewed for accuracy by the course instructor and evaluated for feedback by other course participants. Participants may work in pairs if they wish. Final projects should be completed within one month of the last lesson.

  • Level 2: Participants will prepare a brief presentation that they will give during a live online meet-and-greet session with a handful of mCDR practitioners approximately 3 weeks after the end of the weekly lessons. Presentations should be clear and informative, helping mCDR practitioners learn more about the priorities that matter to fishing communities and how to apply these priorities in their own work. The delivery of these presentations will be followed by an extensive dialogue where course participants and mCDR practitioners will gain insights into each other’s roles, values, and worldviews. Participants may also produce published materials to accompany their presentations, which will be shared with mCDR practitioners via a project showcase in the Fishery Friendly Climate Action Campaign’s e-newsletter.

Contact

If you have questions, please contact Sarah Schumann at fisheryfriendlyclimateaction@gmail.com or (401)297-6273.