December 7, 2021 — The annual Maine harvest of seaweed pales in comparison to lobster landings in pounds and value. Yet increasingly, lobstermen have joined other entrepreneurs in growing, harvesting and marketing Maine seaweed. Seen as another means of diversifying the state’s commercial fishing industry, it is turning into a multimillion-dollar industry and keeping in-shore fishermen busy during lobster’s off season. 

Rockweed, common along the Maine coast, accounts for about 95 percent of commercially harvested seaweed. It’s used for packing lobsters, as fertilizer and a nutritional additive for pet and livestock feed, and to extract alginate, used to thicken foods, cosmetics and even paint. 

But a smaller but growing market is for kelp, sugar kelp, dulse and Alaria, edible sea vegetables grown and harvested for nutritional and flavor supplements in a variety of foods. 

“People are recognizing its health benefits, its environmental benefits, and it tastes great,” Island Institute’s Sam Belknap said. The institute recently supported new aquaculturists, including seaweed growers, in a program for fishermen.

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander