The AquaBreak Project aims at creating the AquaBreak Offshore System (AOS) to explore the synergies of seaweed aquaculture systems on food production and coastal protection in Portugal, which is a country particularly exposed to the maritime harsh conditions. The objective of the current study is to assess the wave damping potential of seaweed aquaculture systems exposed to the common conditions of the Portuguese Coast in order to create an effective implementation plan of the AOS. The experimental campaign was performed at wave flume of the Hydraulics Laboratory at Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto. A longline seaweed aquaculture physical model was built using nylon lines with polyurethane sheet stripes. The wave characteristics were measured upstream and downstream of the model using resistive wave probes. The results revealed that the presence of a seaweed aquaculture systems can decrease the significant wave height by 35% for the tested conditions.
