USA: Kelp culture is still in its infancy in Alaska

The article highlights the burgeoning mariculture industry in Homer, Alaska, with a focus on kelp farming as a sustainable alternative to traditional fishing. Evie Witten and the Kachemak Kelp Hub are at the forefront, emphasizing kelp's ecological benefits like carbon absorption and ocean acidification buffering. Supported by a $49 million grant from the Southeast Conference, the industry is expanding its infrastructure. The Kachemak Kelp Hub is tackling challenges in processing and marketing kelp, aiming to diversify its products for broader markets, including food, nutraceuticals, cosmetics, and fertilizers. Witten's team is innovating kelp-based products to stimulate local interest and connect with existing markets, collaborating with local chefs to expand processing capacity. This effort is crucial for job creation and addressing climate change through regenerative crops, marking a significant step for Alaska's mariculture sector.

“For a long time, people came here to Alaska and looked to fishing as the way to make a living on the water. Well, mariculture provides a different way,” muses Evie Witten of Ebb Tide Ocean Farm and the Kachemak Kelp Hub in Homer, Alaska. “I'm an ecologist and I'm interested in addressing climate change conundrum in regenerative ways. Kelp is good because it provides both a source of food and biomass and can be grown in ways that are beneficial for coastal ecosystems and communities,” she adds. Forming extensive underwater forests, the 112-known kelp species are among the fastest-growing lifeforms on Earth, growing up to two feet a day. As they grow fast and absorb copious amounts of carbon dioxide, they help to limit climate change and buffer ocean acidification. The city of Homer on Kachemak Bay has long been a commercial fishing hub for salmon, cod and halibut. Mariculture came later, in the form of oyster and mussel farms. “Recently though, there were a number of us that ...