Interest in kelp aquaculture keeps compounding, and Maine’s kelp-farming scene is the clearest evidence of it. Atlantic Sea Farms, the company that buys and processes most of the kelp grown in the state, reported a record 2024 harvest of 1.3 million pounds — up from a Maine-wide total of just 53,500 pounds in 2018, when the industry was still tiny.
That kelp came from a network of 40 partner farms across 18 communities spanning Maine, Rhode Island and Alaska, most of them run by commercial fishing families who grow kelp on lines through the winter, when their usual boats sit idle. According to the company, those farmers were paid more than $1 million combined for the 2024 harvest, and the resulting kelp products — snack foods, seasonings, fermented kelp cubes — now reach more than 4,000 retail locations across the US.
The appeal for coastal communities is straightforward: kelp needs no fresh water, fertilizer or feed to grow, and it fills a season when many working waterfronts otherwise sit quiet. Atlantic Sea Farms, led by CEO Briana Warner, says it’s continuing to recruit new farmers and expand into new growing regions, including further into Alaska, betting that the market for farmed seaweed keeps growing alongside the supply.
Further reading: Global Seafood Alliance, “Maine seaweed-farming network harvests a record 1.3 million pounds in 2024,” Responsible Seafood Advocate (2025).