Building a kelp industry

February was kind of a blur for us - it’s a short month as it is and we added a bit of travel. Our main event was going to a mariculture conference in Sitka, a town in Southeast Alaska of temperate rainforests, totem poles, and outer coast weather. Neither of us had visited previously and we were happy for the opportunity to do so and to learn about everything kelp and connect with all those briney farmers and brainy scientists working together to try and build a new industry in Alaska.

Not just any old industry - it’s a blue economy at that, regenerative for the ocean and beneficial for fishermen seeking new opportunities. But what is kelp used for and what does this have to do with salmon? For one, it's pulling CO2 out of the ocean and providing habitat for creatures that end up in the king salmon food chain. The less CO2 in the ocean the better! Also, krill thrive, thusly feeding so many of our seafood species, sockeye salmon in particular.

Kelp can be used for food - Tollef is using our amazing solar power to deyhdrate some today for our own use in soups/stews, in beans, as a salt substitute with added umami, and Adelia is making kelp chocolates - but these days our larger markets are less for human food and more for things that humans eat. The bio stimulant market is about to open the flood gates. Used on crops to grow healthier, more disease resistant plants, perhaps replacing artificial fertilizer made from petroleum, it’s a win-win for the ecosystem!

It feels good to trying to pioneer a new industry with innovation and plain old elbow grease. It's not easy nor straightforward but we are trying and that's all anyone can do. The bonus of getting to do real work out on the water year round, rather than just in summertime salmon mode, makes it extra rewarding.

Now with the daylight hours expanding rapidly, it’s our favorite time of the year on the kelp farm. From week to week, we watch it grow as fast as bamboo - inches per day in some cases. It’s still small at the moment after an extra dark winter, but will be longer than the two of us put together come harvest time in May. We’ll definitely send an update at harvest time. Here’s a photo of sugar kelp yesterday vs. what it looks like in April.