As warming waters drive lobster north, Mainers raise kelp

Justin Papkee, a partner farmer with Atlantic Sea Farms, hauls up kelp lines with the help of his crew, Jim Ranaghan and Chris Papkee, off Long Island, Maine, last year. (Photo by Nicole Wolf via The Washington Post)

"Seaweed is Maine's new cash crop," as the lobster industry adjusts to climate change, Kathy Gunst reports for The Washington Post. In the fall, lobster fishers "plant tiny kelp seeds on the 1,000-foot-long ropes, and by late spring, attached to each one is close to 6,000 pounds of fresh sugar kelp. The seaweed is harvested, flash frozen and used to make kelp cubes for smoothies, as well as seaweed salad, seaweed kraut and more."

The switch from lobster to kelp is the result of rising temperatures. "The Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 96 percent of the world’s oceans — increasing at a rate of 0.09 degrees per year," Gunst reports. "These warming temperatures have forced the lobster population to migrate north seeking colder waters, and the impact on Maine fishermen has been profound." The industry is also growing in Alaska.

The big player in Maine's kelp industry is Atlantic Sea Farms, which works with 27 partner farmers who brought in just under 1 million pounds this year. "The company’s products are now sold in more than 2,000 stores across the country, as well as in restaurants and college cafeterias," Gunst reports. "In 2021 the company was responsible for 85 percent of the line-produced seaweed in the country."

Kelp farming has environmental benefits, ASF President Briana Warner told Gunst: “There’s so much carbon in the air, and when carbon hits the ocean surface the ocean absorbs it and changes the pH and degrades shellfish. Seaweed absorbs the carbon and nitrogen in the water. When you harvest seaweed you are removing carbon with it and leaving behind a healthier body of water.” She said mussels planted on ropes after a kelp harvest have stronger shells thanks to the removal of excess carbon.