Gouldsboro seaweed farmer gets $650K to develop new cultivation systems
Courtesy / Springtide Seaweed
Springtide Seaweed, which raises its crops in the waters of Frenchman Bay, has been awarded $650,000 in federal funding to develop new cultivation technologies.
Springtide Seaweed in Gouldsboro will receive $650,000 in federal funding to develop new cultivation systems for nori and dulse red seaweed, allowing these high-value crops to be farmed in the U.S. and globally.
This funding was awarded through the Small Business Innovation Research Program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The grant will build on the efforts of the SEAMaine marine economy action plan, an industry-led effort funded with the support of U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine.
“We welcome this investment from the USDA, which will allow Springtide Seaweed to develop new seaweed crops, increasing sustainability and efficiency in the industry, diversifying the aquaculture industry, and supporting jobs in coastal communities,” Collins and King said in a joint statement.
The potential of U.S. seaweed aquaculture is immense, Collins and King said, but the industry remains stalled at low-value brown kelp crops. Springtide Seaweed will use this funding to refine its nursery technologies and designs for efficient seed production of high-value nori and dulse red seaweed.
This cultivation system will be used by Springtide Seaweed and may ultimately be commercialized for aquaculture businesses globally.
The senators said that new turnkey systems, adaptable to red and brown seaweed cultivation, have the potential to increase sustainability in the industry, reduce gear and crop failure, and enable high-value red seaweeds to be easily integrated into existing aquaculture industries.
Springtide Seaweed LLC is an organic seaweed aquaculture company that grows a variety of crops including sugar kelp, skinny kelp, alaria and dulse on Frenchman Bay. The company, founded by Sarah Redmond, also provides consulting and education services for the aquaculture industry.
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