About This Project

In response to the climate crisis and fears of food insecurity, regenerative kelp farming is emerging as a popular new method of carbon fixing and sustainable food production. Kelp is versatile, its practical applications ranging from hair products, to pharmaceuticals, to plant protein substitutes. The process of growing kelp is labor-intensive, and smaller farms often lack funding for workers, so I developed a mechanism to improve yield while reducing human labor.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

One of the major issues looming over the next century is the depletion of viable top-soil for farming. The United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organization estimated the world only has about 60 years worth of top soil left, with 70% already lost to unsustainable farming practice. Alternative methods of farming will be needed to feed the world. Additionally, kelp farming is a 6 billion dollar industry and the fastest growing aquaculture sector. The industry is expanding quickly, with organizations such as Greenwave committing to the creation of 10,000 kelp farms this decade, states like Alaska removing hurdles to get permits, and the global market for plant-based protein market growing rapidly, In this growth there is opportunity for innovating substantial supportive technologies.

What is the significance of this project?

The impact of expansive kelp farming is a healthier community, economy, ocean, and world. One study from 2016 estimated that wild seaweed sequesters approximately 640 million Mt of carbon dioxide a year, with 90% in deep-sea floor long-term storage, indicating kelp farmer as a method of lowering global carbon dioxide levels. Seaweed farming is referred to as 'regenerative' because it provides a habitat for a variety of marine life and requires almost none of the toxic inputs that traditional farming requires (pesticides, chemical fertilizers, etc.) This regenerative potential extends to the economy too; seaweed farms can be a stable source of jobs in coastal communities, providing work alternatives to exploitive fisheries.

What are the goals of the project?

I received $400 from my school and set out to develop a prototype for an automated twine-wrapper to address inconsistency and labor-intensity. After building a functional prototype at 25% scale, testing indicated a potential 45% increase in yield with a 60% decrease in labor. The goal of this project is to scale up my prototype for in-field testing. I will transport the full-sized prototype to an Alaskan kelp farm where we will use it on grow-ropes and then measure yield differences between control ropes. Success will be measured by the weight of kelp produced, the time it takes to wrap a grow rope, and observational data about the efficiency and effectiveness of the prototype.