Jo Lane
(she/Her)
CEO, Sea Health Products
Jo Lane is on a mission to introduce kelp farming aquaculture to Australia. With a Marine Science degree and post graduate qualifications in Environmental Studies, Jo is passionate about introducing regenerative ocean farming to improve the health of our marine environment and produce sustainable food products. Kelp has many other applications including agricultural feed, nutraceuticals, cosmetics and bioplastics.
Jo’s love of the ocean came when she started a casual job at a large aquarium. Her eyes were opened to wonder and awe of the underwater world, but with that came a sense of urgency to protect and conserve our oceans. Jo has worked in a variety of roles including seal trainer, diver and working with volunteers on coastal weed programs. Throughout her career, she has also worked for Federal, state and local government in marine protection roles. Having a keen interest in healthy living, the role of ‘kelp farmer’ seems just perfect and Jo is now the owner and CEO of a kelp business in NSW.
In 2019, Jo received a Churchill Fellowship and travelled to Korea Ireland, Scotland, Faroe Islands, Norway, USA and Canada to investigate appropriate technologies to introduce kelp farming aquaculture to Australia. Since returning, she and her team have built a laboratory and successfully bred a native Australian kelp species, Ecklonia radiata, ready to be deployed in the ocean for farming and restoration projects. The impact of climate change on our warming oceans is leading to the decline of our kelp forests. Jo hopes to make a positive contribution to address the issues impacting our marine environment and to inspire others.
She lives in a small rural town with her husband, two children, two dogs and two chickens.. She enjoys the simple things in life, like growing vegetables, walking in nature and camping.
