Adelia harvesting sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima)

May 11th saw us up at 4 am for a quick cup of coffee and speedy breakfast before our pre-sunrise departure to our kelp farm across the bay. From 5 am to 1 pm, we cut kelp off our grow lines and delivered it to the waiting boat which would take it back to the processor in Kodiak. The work was fast paced but methodical, supremely beautiful yet incredibly messy, and 100% gratifying. After a whole winter spent sort of with our fingers crossed, since mother nature is truly the one in control with any growing thing, and after Tollef spent quite a bit of mental and physical energy engineering and welding handy new systems to help streamline our harvesting technique, we were rewarded with a bumper crop and a snag-free harvest.

Our second year in, we are still as appreciative as ever at the way this macro-algae grows so quickly with zero inputs, scrubbing our oceans and then providing a wonderful pristine food source to humans around the globe. Our kelp goes to Blue Evolution, which is a pioneer in the fledgling Alaska kelp industry and provides food service ingredients for a wide variety of applications. We’e looking forward to scaling up our operation next season!

But now it’s time to switch gears to summer work and our other sustainable ocean venture - salmon. More on kelp next winter…..stay tuned for salmon updates coming soon! Fishing starts June 9th!

The Kelp Harvest