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Tech tool could 'kelp' Maine seaweed farmers slash costs

People pull in a line of seaweed. Photo / Courtesy Toby Dewhurst Kelson Marine and collaborators sample kelp grown on an open-ocean seaweed farm.
By Laurie Schreiber

Farming kelp is an expensive endeavor, in some scenarios costing about $2,618 per metric ton. But a new tool developed in Maine could help trim that cost to $383.

Researchers at Kelson Marine Co. in Portland and the University of Maine developed software that provides a detailed economic overview for growers.

The tool analyzes dozens of design and operational factors — including site-specific ocean and meteorological conditions, species-specific crop characteristics and growth, workboat types and sizes, labor structures, on-board kelp processing or storage techniques, shoreside infrastructure and maintenance schedules.

“By using this tool to investigate the comprehensive implications of any given farm design or operational decision, we can help kelp farmers meaningfully reduce production costs and achieve economic sustainability,” said Zach Moscicki, an ocean engineer with Kelson Marine leading the project.

Growing industry

Kelp is used as food and in beauty products, fertilizer additives and other goods. Maine leads the nation in seaweed farming — and the industry is growing. Each spring, around a million pounds of kelp are harvested from ocean farms by Maine fishermen and families who grow it over the winter.

Most of the kelp is incorporated into seaweed salads, sauces, kelp burgers and health foods, then distributed to restaurants and retailers. 

But a barrier for incoming farmers is a lack of cost-analysis tools to help reduce expenditures and develop sustainable business plans. 

Dynamic environment

Enter the engineering capabilities of Kelson Marine. Led by CEO Toby Dewhurst, the engineering consultant specializes in predicting how highly dynamic structures will perform and survive in the ocean.

A person poses for a headshot.
FILE PHOTO / JIM NEUGER
Toby Dewhurst

Kelson has developed simulation tools for engineering complex ocean structures for applications such as ocean renewable energy and aquaculture.

The company partnered earlier this year with the Alaska Mariculture Cluster and Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation on a similar project focused on ocean modeling, data collection and analysis for shellfish and seaweed farming.

Kelson’s exports in 2024-25 included designing systems for New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway and the Faroe Islands.

85% cost reduction

Kelson Marine and UMaine — supported by scientists from the University of New Hampshire, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts and Vertical Bay, Maine — tested analytical software to analyze the production costs of a hypothetical sugar kelp farming operation occupying 1,000 acres, about 12 miles from shore, with a water depth of 330 feet. 

Researchers tested several scenarios, including multiple farm designs and operational models.

The tool predicted that operating a kelp farm that is simply designed for low structural costs and high production volume would cost $2,618 per metric ton of fresh kelp. 

By using the tool to test design and operational changes, the team cut the cost by 85%. They came up with improvements that included deeper cultivation lines, mechanized harvest and seeding operations, processing the kelp on-site into a slurry, optimizing vessel sizes and selecting different vessels.

Tackling 'pain points'

The work was supported with funding from Conscience Bay Research, the Builders Initiative and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Structural analysis tools developed and validated under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy Macroalgae Research Inspiring Novel Energy Resources program were applied.

“What is exciting about this new model is that it is the most comprehensive and detailed cost analysis of offshore kelp growth in the U.S. to date,” said Damian Brady, a marine sciences professor at UMaine. "This type of analysis helps us find pain points where investments in technology can rapidly change the cost-benefit analysis.”

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