Kelp noodles (photo by Ocean Approved LLC)

Ocean aquaculture - growing sea creatures in cages rather than hunter/gathering them from ships  - has long seemed a logical move, a way to get protein with relatively little ecological side effect. That’s why UNH has an Open-Ocean Aquaculture research program, and Maine has an industry association. But the reality has been difficult: salt-water aquaculture that’s commercially successful has bad ecological effects (shrimp farming), while open-ocean stuff has proved very difficult.

A new effort is being launched in Maine, says the Portland Press-Herald in this article: Kelp farming. Some folks are developing what appears to be the firm commercial kelp farm in the country, called Ocean Approved. - basically, they’re starting to grow  the oceanic weed on underwater cages, for food and perhaps eventually for environmental benefits (kelp is great at removing excess nutrients that enter the ocean from runoff).

Of course, selling vegetables like kelp tends to be less profitable than selling meat like salmon or shrimp. But environmentally it seems much, much better.

Tags: aquaculture, kelp