February 6, 2017 — Seaweed cultivation has been promoted in recent years in Maine as a way to produce local nutritious food and to boost the coastal economy.
Now, seaweed harvesters say their industry provides yet another benefit: environmental protection, in the form of improving water quality.
A new study from Bigelow Laboratory for Marine Sciences in Boothbay indicates growing and harvesting seaweed may be an antidote for increasing carbon and acidity levels in the ocean, which is harming a variety of marine life.
Since January 2016, the lab has been studying the effect of kelp growth on surrounding carbon levels at the Ocean Approved seaweed farm off Great Chebeague Island in Casco Bay.
The early results indicate that sugar kelp absorbs carbon from the surrounding water as it grows. This is prompting the lab to expand its research on kelp and to conduct a separate study on the carbon-absorption abilities of wild-grown rockweed.