University of South Florida College of Marine Science researchers, a seafood wholesaler, a Sarasota restaurateur, and a family of commercial fishermen aim to develop a trap allowing for commercial-level catch of invasive lionfish to develop a new fishery in the Gulf of Mexico and provide new market opportunities for seafood businesses. Photo: CBS News
by Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News Editor
An Innovation Challenge open to individuals, institutions, governments, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit businesses to benefit Florida’s Gulf Coast communities, marine science industry, and Blue Economy has announced five finalists.
Dr.Richard Pierce, Assoc Vice President for Research, Directorate of Environmental Health & Ocean Technology at Mote Marine Labs explains the Advanced Solar-Powered Filtration Technology for Marine and Freshwater entry. Photo: Mote Marine Labs
The Gulf Coast Community Foundation recently named the finalists in the inaugural Gulf Coast Innovation Challenge. The challenge had teams participating to create brief online submission explaining how their project could make a positive contribution to the Gulf Coast’s Blue Economy as well as provide a public benefit.
The mission of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation is to transform the region through bold and proactive philanthropy. The public charity that was created in 1995 with proceeds from the sale of the Venice, FL Hospital. It has become the philanthropic home to more than 600 families who have established charitable funds with total investments of more than $200 million that is issued as grants in the areas of health and human services, civic and economic development, education, arts and culture, and the environment.
Twenty-five teams from the nonprofit, private, and public sectors completed applications to vie for a grant of up to $25,000 to develop a prototype of its proposed business solution to positively and sustainably impact the Gulf Coast.
The five finalists include:
- Advanced Solar-powered Filtration Technology for Marine and Freshwater | Mote Marine Laboratory, the University of Washington’s Pollack Laboratory, and ROBRADY design propose to turn basic research into a working water-purification device that could transform marine and freshwater filtration models.
- Antibiotics from the Sea | Omeza, LLC, will partner with senior scientists at Mote Marine Laboratory to develop and commercialize novel antibiotics from the sea.
- Cancer Therapies from Sharks | Mote Marine Laboratory’s biomedical research program will collaborate with the University of Central Florida’s College of Medicine and pharmaceutical company Sun BioPharma to harness cancer-inhibiting compounds secreted by sharks and develop new treatments for human cancer patients.
- Healthy Earth – Gulf Coast: Sustainable Seafood System | A team led by sustainable-food company Healthy Earth proposes to develop a sustainable seafood system with value-added seafood production built on the region’s striped-mullet fishery.
- Taking Back the Lion’s Share | University of South Florida College of Marine Science researchers, a seafood wholesaler, a Sarasota restaurateur, and a family of commercial fishermen aim to develop a trap allowing for commercial-level catch of invasive lionfish to develop a new fishery in the Gulf of Mexico and provide new market opportunities for seafood businesses.
“We are delighted to be recognized by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation and to be an X challenge finalist,” Gulf Seafood News was told by Ed Chiles, a Florida restauranteur and team member of the Healthy Earth – Gulf Coast: Sustainable Seafood System entry. “We believe that better utilization of our local marine resources in a sustainable manner as well as the development of our local bivalve aquaculture will benefit our local economy as well as our environment.”
“These five proposals all have potential to transform a segment of our region’s Blue Economy,” said Mark Pritchett, senior vice president for community investment at Gulf Coast Community Foundation, who is overseeing the Innovation Challenge. Photo: GCCF
Finalists will present their prototypes in November and the Foundation may select one team to receive an additional $375,000 in grant funding to bring its solution to market.
“These five proposals all have potential to transform a segment of our region’s Blue Economy,” said Mark Pritchett, senior vice president for community investment at Gulf Coast Community Foundation, who is overseeing the Innovation Challenge. “Now we want to see a full plan for how they can leverage our funding to bring their ideas to reality and benefit the Gulf Coast region.”
Pritchett noted that each of the finalists targets one of the first two critical near-term goals identified in Gulf Coast’s 2015 regional cluster study and economic development strategy for the marine sciences and technology: make and consume more seafood regionally, and enhance the impact of regional research and development in the marine sciences.
The foundation also recognized a People’s Choice Award winner for the project with the most online support from the community. The Living Shorelines team, which includes Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Sarasota Bay Watch, Reef Ball Foundation, and other organizations, will receive a $5,000 grant from Gulf Coast.
Dr. Kim Ritchie, a Senior Scientist at the Mote Marine Laboratory Marine Microbiology Program, explains how her program hopes to develop and commercialize novel antibiotics from the sea. Photo: Mote Marine Labs
“We were impressed with all of the ideas that were submitted, and the community clearly likes them too,” said Pritchett. “New collaborations have formed and momentum is building behind more than just five of these concepts, and that was another objective of our Challenge.”
The finalists will provide periodic video updates on the Gulf Coast Innovation Challenge website as they develope prototypes and refine their business plans. Team progress can be viewed on GulfCoastChallenge.org through October when the prototyping phase ends. Proposals not selected as finalists can also be viewed on the Challengers Gallery.
The Gulf Coast Community Foundation launched the $500,000 incentive-grant challenge in February of this year. It was designed to spur and help fund innovations that will sustainably grow the marine sciences and technology sector in Sarasota, Manatee, and Charlotte counties. The initiative was announced in conjunction with the release of Gulf Coast’s Blue Economy cluster study at an event on Sarasota’s Bayfront featuring XPRIZE founder Peter Diamandis.
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