1401.12.033050-final_programmatic_report

Transcription

Easygrants ID: 33050
NFWF/Legacy Grant Project ID: 1401.12.033050
LI Sound Futures Fund 2012 - Clean Water, Habitat Restoration, and Species Conservation - Submit Final Programmatic
Report (Activities)
Grantee Organization: University of Connecticut
Project Title: Nutrient Bioextraction in Long Island Sound (CT, NY)
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Project Period
Award Amount
Matching Contributions
Project Location Description (from Proposal)
10/15/2012 - 07/14/2014
$157,447.67
$286,143.00
NY at mouth of Bronx River, 40°.830 N / 073°.870 W, & CT off the
coast of Fairfield, 41º06.882? N / 73º15.277? W, & Thimble Islands,
Branford, 41º12.772? N / 73º 57.070? W
Project Summary (from Proposal)
Demonstrate the use of kelp, a native seaweed, to bioextract 53 lbs. of
nitrogen and 343 lbs. of carbon pollution at a small-scale and then
model the potential large-scale nutrient removal capacity.
Summary of Accomplishments
A winter crop, the sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) was farmed at two
sites in LIS and another one at the mouth of the Bronx River Estuary
during the winter 2012 to spring 2013 growing season to evaluate the
nutrient bioextraction capacity of this seaweed species. After
outplanting juvenile kelp (1mm), the sugar kelp grew over 2 m in length
at harvest in May and June, 2013 at all sites. However, a strong
Nor’Easter storm (70 miles per hour wind gusts) on Jan. 31st caused
significant damage to all farm systems, causing a reduction in kelp
productivity and, therefore, nitrogen removal. The productivities at
harvest were approximately 9.3 (BRE), 9.1 (Western LIS) and 5.5 kg
FW/m (Central LIS). These values were significantly lower than that
we found in our previous trial in 2011-2012 growing season (18 kg/m).
This is a result of the storm damage. We have designed a hypothetical
nutrient bioextraction kelp farm system that assumes 1.5 m spacing
between longlines. Nitrogen removal by sugar kelp in our hypothetical
one hectare farm system was approximately 183 (BRE), 74 (Western
LIS) and 35 kg/ha (Central LIS), respectively. We have developed
cultivation video and accompanying manual for sugar kelp. Two
workshops were conducted in CT and NY. We have presented some of
the project results in relevant and appropriate events. Our work has
received a great deal of media attention.
Lessons Learned
1. Sugar kelp aquaculture is a useful tool to use for nutrient
bioextraction in urbanized estuaries, including LIS and New York
estuaries.
2. The optimal conditions for sugar kelp cultivation are site-specific.
3. Turbidity reduced light penetration at the BRE site. Shallow depth
(0.5 m; with higher light intensity) provided a better condition for sugar
kelp to increase growth and therefore to extract more nutrients from the
water body even until June.
4. More secure mooring systems in sugar kelp farms should be
developed to accommodate the severe storm events common in LIS and
NY estuaries.
Conservation Activities
Progress Measures
Value at Grant Completion
Remove nitrogen from Long Island Sound waters (total for 3 sites)
Other Activity Metric (lb nitrogen removed)
3.1
Remove carbon from Long Island Sound waters (total for 3 sites)
Progress Measures
Other Activity Metric (lb carbon removed)
48
Involve high school and college in research activities
Progress Measures
# schools involved in activity
3
Involve high school and college students in research activities
Progress Measures
Other Activity Metric (# students involved in research)
25
Generate kelp biomass (total for 3 sites)
Progress Measures
Other Activity Metric (lb kelp harvested (dry weight))
160
Request assistance to establish seaweed aquaculture system (post-grant)
Progress Measures
Other Activity Metric (# Resource Managers requesting assistance from PIs)
5
Present workshop to fisheries industry, NGOs, Shellfish Commissions about
how to set up bioextraction facility
Progress Measures
# of workshops, webcasts, webinars, special events, meetings associated with
activity
2
Produce how to manual and distribute to NGOs, fishing industry and other
entities who may apply technology
Progress Measures
Other Activity Metric (Manual produced)
1
Present at regional conferences about project (NE Aquaculture Conf and
Exposition, Annual Milford Labor Aquaculture SEminar, before LISS CAC and STAC
Progress Measures
# of workshops, webcasts, webinars, special events, meetings associated with
activity
37
Produce articles for scientific publications
Progress Measures
Other Activity Metric
2
Work with regional and local media to do articles about project
Progress Measures
18
Produce sugar kelp seedstring
Progress Measures
Other Activity Metric (Length of seedstring, meter)
1000
Remove phosphorus from Long Island Sound waters (total for 3 sites)
Progress Measures
Other Activity Metric ((lb phosphorus removed))
0.3
Produce miscellaneous articles
Progress Measures
3
Final Programmatic Report Narrative
Instructions: Save this document on your computer and complete the narrative in the format provided. The final
narrative should not exceed ten (10) pages; do not delete the text provided below. Once complete, upload this document
into the on-line final programmatic report task as instructed.
1. Summary of Accomplishments
In four to five sentences, provide a brief summary of the project’s key accomplishments and outcomes that were observed
or measured.
 The sugar kelp, Saccharina latissima, grew well under different environmental conditions and extracted nutrients from
LIS and the Bronx River estuary (BRE), demonstrating that nutrient bioextraction by seaweed aquaculture can be an
effective coastal nutrient management tool in urbanized estuaries.
 We estimated that Saccharina latissima could remove up to 180 kg N ha-1 at BRE, 67 kg N ha-1 at western LIS and 38
kg N ha-1 at central LIS in a hypothetical kelp farm system with 1.5 m spacing between longlines.
 We estimated that the sugar kelp can sequester 1,350 (BRE), 1,800 (western LIS) and 1,200 (Central LIS) kg C ha -1,
respectively.
 The potential monetary value of N sequestration by the sugar kelp at each site is up to $1,600 ha-1 (BRE), $760 ha-1
(western LIS) and $430 ha-1 (central LIS) if incorporated in the State of Connecticut Nitrogen Credit Trading Program
and a carbon trading program. The potential economic values of C sequestration are up to $30-$300 ha-1, $40-$400 ha-1,
and $24-$240 ha-1, respectively.
 These results suggest that seaweed aquaculture is a useful technique for nutrient bioextraction in urbanized coastal
waters, such as LIS and BRE. An alternation of the warm and cold water species would maximize the nutrient
bioextraction and provide invaluable ecosystem services that would have economic benefits to the region and to the
USA.
2. Project Activities & Outcomes
Activities
 Describe and quantify (using the approved metrics referenced in your grant agreement) the primary activities
conducted during this grant. Activities are the actions that you completed with the grant funding. These
activities helped you achieve the overall goals of your project. For example, acres restored, # installed
rainwater harvesting sites, # of communities or volunteers engaged, data collected and analyzed etc.).
 Briefly explain the differences between the activities conducted during the grant and the activities agreed
upon in your grant agreement and proposal.
Outcomes
 Describe and quantify progress towards achieving the conservation activities described in your original
proposal. (Quantify using the approved metrics referenced in your grant agreement or by using more relevant
metrics not included in the application.) Outcomes are defined as the longer-term or “big picture”
environmental result(s) that you expect will ultimately occur as a result of a particular activity or activities.
For projects with continuing long-term benefits (such as riparian buffer plantings) you may want to estimate
the environmental benefits after a set period of time (say, five years). For studies you should describe the
usefulness of the data to applied resource management or it role in developing new tools or techniques for
applied resource management.
 Briefly explain differences between what actually occurred compared to what was projected to occur.
 Provide any further information (such as unexpected outcomes) important for understanding project activities
and outcome results.
Task 1 – Development of laboratory cultures from spores of Saccharina latissima harvested from the wild
Native Saccharina latissima seedstring was produced using the nursery
rearing technology developed at UCONN (Fig. 1; Redmond et al.
2014). To develop seedstring of native Saccharina latissima, spores of
wild-harvested specimens were collected in November, 2012 from LIS
to obtain a wide variety of genotypes. Reproductive sorus tissue was
scraped gently and cleansed of epibionts, immersed in a dilute solution
of Betadine®, rinsed, and then wrapped in damp paper towels. The
sorus tissue was stored overnight at 10°C in darkness. The following
day, sorus tissue was re-immersed in autoclaved natural seawater to
stimulate release of the flagellated meiospores (zoospores). After
removing the spent sori, the spore-filled seawater was filtered through
cheese-cloth to remove potential contaminants (Brinkhuis et al. 1987).
Spore concentration was determined with a hemocytometer under a
compound microscope, and adjusted via dilution with autoclaved
Fig. 1. The sugar kelp nursery system at
natural seawater to ca. 4000 cells mL-1. These zoospores were seeded
UCONN Stamford.
directly on seedstring (Korean type string: Guraron 24, 2mm) wrapped
around 38 cm × 6 cm PVC nursery spools and placed in seeding tanks containing 10°C sterilized Provasoli’s enriched
seawater (PES) and 2mL L-1 of germanium dioxide (GeO2). After 24 hours in the seeding tanks (dark, 10°C), the spools
were then transferred to grow-out tanks at UCONN and BRASTEC
containing sterilized PES (half strength) treated with GeO2 and
maintained at 10°C. Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) was
adjusted to 20 μmol m-2 s-1 with a 12:12, L:D photoperiod, and then
gradually increased to 100 μmol m-2 s-1 as sporophytes grew.
Outcomes: The length of sugar kelp seedstring: unspecified
(proposed)  1000 m (to date)
Fig. 2. Temperatures at three farm sites during the
study. Temperatures at the 0.5 and 1.0 m depths were
averaged since for the majority of samples (90-94%)
the two depths differed by ≤ 0.3° C.
Task 2 – Cultivation of Saccharina at the demonstration sites.
When the sporophytes of S. latissima reached approximately 1 mm in
length, the kelp seedstring was outplanted at 0.5 m and 1.0 m depth at
each farm site. The outplanting of kelp at Bronx River Estuary (BRE)
site was delayed until December 20, 2012, because of delays in
receiving from NY DEC the renewals of our farm permits. However,
with the assistance of HDR (Kevin Keane and Eileen Wands), an
extension of our permit for that site was finally granted in late Dec.,
which enable us to make our deployment. Our team also had to deal
with damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. Moorings were reset with
the assistance of Dr. Carter Newell. Following this, a broken mooring
line from another winter storm was repaired just prior to deployment
on December 20th.
At the BRASTEC farm site in Western LIS (Fairfield, CT), kelp was
outplanted on December 4th, 2012 and Jan. 11th, 2013. The outplanted
kelp grew very well but a strong Nor’Easter storm (over 70 miles per
hour wind gusts) on Jan. 31st moved the anchors of all our Coast Guard
marker buoys. The January Nor’Easter caused severe damage at the
kelp farm system. The majority of kelp longlines were tangled,
causing a significant loss of kelp longlines and biomass. The surviving
kelp longlines grew well, and most plants grew over 2 m in length. At
Thimble Island Oyster Co. farm site in the Central LIS, the kelp
seedstring was outplanted on Nov. 10th, 2013 at 0.5 and 1.0m depths.
However, the shallow kelp longlines were severely braided by surface
support longlines due to the aforementioned storms. Although the
longlines at 1 m depth were also impacted by the storms, causing a loss
of biomass, the surviving plants at this depth grew well. Most plants
are over 2m in length at harvest.
Outcomes: N/A
Task 3 – Determination of growth rate and productivity of Saccharina latissima.
Fig. 3. Salinities at three Long Island Sound sites over the duration
of the study. The small inset graph shows average salinities from
data pooled across Oct 2012 – Apr 2013.
To evaluate the productivity of cultured Saccharina, the fresh weight
biomass of kelp per longline (e.g. kg FW m-1) at final harvest was
measured at each site. Each month, water samples (n = 3) adjacent to
the longlines at 1.0 m depth were also collected for inorganic nutrient
analysis via a SmartChem Discrete Analyzer (Westco Scientific
Instruments, Inc., Brookfield, CT). At each site, a temperature sensor
(HOBO data logger 64K - UA-002-64;
http://www.onsetcomp.com/products/data-loggers/ua-002-64) was deployed
at 1.0 m depth to monitor water temperature throughout the growing
season. Salinity was also measured at the same depth using a
refractometer (Fisher Scientific, Pittsburg, PA).
3.1. Temperature
Temperatures at the three sites varied in similar fashion (Fig. 2),
decreasing until mid-February, then increasing until the end of the
study (June). Over the period during which all three sites had
temperature records (7-Feb-2013 to 15-May-2013), temperatures varied
significantly among the sites (Kruskal-Wallis Hdf=2 = 230, p < 0.001).
The Bronx site was warmest, on average, over the experimental period
(6.0° C), followed by the Central LIS site (5.9° C) and the Western LIS
site (5.5° C), all significantly different from each other. Maximum
water temperature was greatest at the Bronx site (15.2° C), followed by
the Western and Central LIS sites (14.9° C and 14.0° C, respectively).
Fig. 4. Dissolved inorganic nutrient concentrations
over the course of the study (Nov 2012-June 2013).
Top panel: total dissolved inorganic nitrogen.
Bottom panel: dissolved orthophosphate. For some
samples, the error bars are smaller than the symbols.
3.2. Salinity
The salinities at the three sites showed similar patterns; roughly
constant from Oct 2012 – Mar 2013, then declining through May and
June (Fig. 3). For analysis, data were pooled across time from Oct
2012 – Apr 2013 for each site (sample date did not significantly
influence salinity over this range). The salinities at the three sites
differed significantly (Kruskal-Wallis Hdf=2 = 11.0, p = 0.004), with
Central LIS (31.7 psu) > Bronx (28.0 psu), with Western LIS salinity
(30.8 psu) similar to both other sites.
3.3. Inorganic Nutrients
Total dissolved inorganic nitrogen differed by month (F5,36 = 33.6, p <0.001), site (F5,36 = 356, p <0.001), and the
interaction term was also significant (F5,36 = 16.1, p <0.001). The latter term indicated the difference in temporal pattern
of the Bronx River site and the Western and Central LIS sites. Total inorganic phosphorus differed by site only (F5,33 =
22.5 p <0.001) and month (F2,36 = 113, p <0.001; the interaction term was non-significant (F8,33 = 1.99, p = 0.079,
however, power of the interaction test was relatively low; (0.376).
3.4. Yield (Productivity)
Productivity (kg FW m-1 longline) was first examined using a site
depth ANOVA for the Bronx and Western LIS sites. This
analysis revealed no influence of depth (0.5 vs. 1.0 m) on total
plant production. Hence, data from the two depths were
combined. The ANOVA on depth-pooled data revealed no
difference among sites (Fig. 5; F2,20 = 3.00, p = 0.072, however,
variation due to site represented only 23% of total variation).
Productivity at the Central LIS site was only 62% and 69% of
productivity at the Western LIS and Bronx River sites,
respectively.
Task 4 – Evaluation of the nutrient bioextraction.
4.1. Tissue carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus contents
The most comprehensive tissue N data sets came from the Bronx
River and Western LIS sites (Central LIS lacked the 0.5
Fig. 6. Tissue nutrient content (% DW). Top panel: nitrogen
across the study. Middle panel: carbon across the study.
Bottom panel: phosphorus (end of study harvest sample only).
For some samples, the error bars (standard deviation) are
smaller than the symbols.
Fig. 5. Yield (kg FW m-1) at 1.0 m depth over the duration
of the study (depth (0.5 vs. 1.0 m) did not have significant
effect on yield). ANOVA suggested mean values were
not statistically different (p = 0.072), though site explained
only 23% of the total variation).
Fig. 7. Nutrient bioextraction by Saccharina latissima over the course of the
study (i.e., biomass produced x nutrient content at harvest).symbols.
m depth) for Feb-May (Fig. 6). These were first examined for site, sample date, and depth effects on tissue nitrogen
content. Site (F1,42 = 119, p < 0.001) and date (F2,42 = 31, p < 0.001) were both highly significant terms, while depth (F1,42
= 0.05, p = 0.81) had no influence on tissue nitrogen content. Site and data also interacted significantly (F2,42 = 26, p <
0.001), revealing the decline in tissue nitrogen at the Western LIS site, and stasis in tissue N at the Bronx River site.
Since depth did not influence tissue nitrogen content in the above analysis, depth was pooled for each site from Feb-May.
Site and month had significant main effects (F2, 69 = 58, p < 0.001, F3, 69 = 176, p < 0.001, respectively), as well as
significant interaction effects (F6, 69 = 44, p < 0.001). The latter term identified the differences in pattern at the Bronx
River site (constancy of tissue nitrogen) and the Western and Central LIS sites (decline from ca. 4% to 1% nitrogen). The
nitrogen content of samples collected in May were highest in Bronx River samples (2.6% DW), compared with the
Western and Central LIS sites (1.0% and 1.2% DW, respectively).
In general, tissue carbon content increased across the course of the study (Fig. 6); on average, carbon increased
from 20.6% FW in Feb to 28.5% DW in May. Site, month, and the site x month interaction all significantly influenced
the tissue carbon content (F6,847 = 6.9, p = 0.002, F3,69, = 30, p = <0.001, F6,69, = 10.9, p = <0.001). The interaction term
was driven by the low carbon content in Apr 2013. The tissue carbon contents in May (last overlapping sample) at the
Bronx River, Western LIS, and Central LIS sites were 26.8%, 29.1%, and 29.9% DW, respectively.
Tissue phosphorus (P) was quantified only on harvested tissue (i.e., end point measurements only). Site
significantly influenced the tissue phosphorus content (F2,9 = 539, p < 0.001). While the tissue phosphorus concentrations
at each site all differed statistically, the Bronx River site produced tissue with by far the highest P concentration (i.e.,
possessed 70% more phosphorus (0.99% DW) than tissue from the Central LIS site (0.59% DW), and 102% more
phosphorus than tissue from the Western LIS site (0.49% DW)).
Table 1. Nutrient bioextraction at the three sites and two depths for hypothetical Saccharina latissima farms with longline
separation distances of 1.5 and 6.0 m for 1.0 meter depth (Central LIS site did not grow S. latissima at 0.5 m).
1.5 m longline spacing
Site
Bronx River
Western Long
Island Sound
Central Long Island
Sound
N removal
(kg ha-1)
P removal
(kg ha-1)
C removal
(kg ha-1)
N removal
(kg ha-1)
P removal
(kg ha-1)
C removal
(kg ha-1)
139
43
1,357
35
11
344
67
30
1,813
17
08
460
38
22
1,102
10
05
280
Fig. 8. . δ15N value for tissue samples collected across the
study. For most samples, the error bars (standard deviation)
are smaller than the symbols.
4.2. Nutrient bioextraction
Integrating average total production (harvested biomass) and
average tissue nutrient content at harvest provided overall
estimates of nutrient bioextraction per meter of longline (Fig. 7).
Depth appeared to influence the removal of nitrogen, carbon, and
phosphorus at the BRE site. There, nitrogen and carbon removal at
the 1.0 m depth were 104% and 163%, respectively, greater than
the removal at 0.5 m (P removal was only estimated at the 1.0 m
depth at all sites). At the Western LIS site, N and C removal were
13% and 11%, respectively, greater at the 1.0 m depth than
removal at 0.5 m. The influence of site on nutrient bioextraction
was examined using the full data set at 1.0 m depth. With the
exception of carbon removal by Western LIS kelp, the BRE site
always removed more nutrients than the other sites, especially the
Central LIS site. This higher performance by kelp at BRE site
ranged from 23% more carbon removed than the Central LIS site
to 99% and 262% more phosphorus and nitrogen, removed,
respectively, than from the Central LIS site.
4.3. δ15N
The δ15N values for S. latissima tissue samples also differed (Fig. 8). Statistical analysis of the Feb-June samples
(obtained for all sites) revealed significant effects of site (F2,24 = 577, p < 0.001), date (F2,24 = 30, p < 0.001), with a
significant interaction between site and date (F6,24 = 8.1, p <
0.001). The interaction term was significant in part because the
March δ15N values were elevated compared to the other dates.
The May samples (last date with values for all sites) were all
significantly different from one another; Bronx River tissue
averaged -0.094 ± 0.51‰, Western Long Island Sound tissue
averaged 13.56 ± 0.02‰, and Central Long Island Sound
averaged 10.80 ± 1.28‰.
4.4. Thallus thickness
Thallus thickness was evaluated at two points along the thallus;
10 cm distal to the meristem and at the widest section of the
blade. The ANOVA (site x thallus position) did not reject the null
hypothesis of equal thicknesses (F2,86 = 3.03, p = 0.054), but the
low power of the test (0.396) suggests caution in interpretation.
Fig. 9. Thickness of Saccharina latissima thalli at the widest
In fact, the ANOVA for the thicknesses measured only at the
point. Different letters denote statistically different values.
widest point along the blade revealed significant differences
(n = 30 for each site).
between sites (F2,87 = 15.4, p < 0.001; Fig. 9). Average
thicknesses at the three sites were all different from one another; Bronx River (645 µm) > Central LIS (555 µm) >
Western LIS (476 µm).
4.5. Phytoremediation
Heavy metal and phosphorus (P) contents were also evaluated with sugar kelp samples at harvest from all three farm sites
(Table 1). Cadmium, lead and phosphorus contents were significantly higher at the BRE sites than LIS sites. However,
the mercury concentration in kelp grown at the Central LIS site was higher than that at other two sites (Table 2). We also
estimated heavy metal removal rates in our hypothetical nutrient bioextraction 1 hectare sugar kelp farm systems (Table
3).
Table 2. Heavy metal and phosphorus contents (μg g-1) in sugar kelp tissue from three different farm sites at harvest (mean
± SD).
Cr
As
Cd
Pb
Hg
BRE
1.22 (±0.22)
26.92 (±1.30)
0.37 (±0.03)
1.95 (±0.27)
0.047 (±0.003)
Western LIS
0.84 (±0.22)
27.88 (±2.05)
0.19 (±0.01)
0.40 (±0.08)
0.086 (±0.002)
Central LIS
0.96 (±0.09)
29.78 (±3.52)
0.21 (±0.06)
0.85 (±0.42)
0.107 (±0.008)
Table 3. Potential heavy metal removal (g ha-1 mon-1) in our hypothetical nutrient bioextraction 1 hectare sugar kelp farm
system (1.5 m or 6.0 spacing).
6 m longline spacing
-1
Removal (kg ha )
Removal (kg ha-1)
Site
Cr
As
Cd
Pb
Hg
Cr
As
Cd
Pb
Hg
BRE
53.1
1172.2
16.1
84.9
2.0
13.3
293.1
4.0
21.2
0.51
Western LIS
36.6
1214.0
8.3
17.4
3.7
9.1
303.5
2.1
4.4
0.94
Central LIS
41.8
1296.8
9.1
37.0
4.7
10.5
324.2
2.3
9.3
1.16
Outcomes:
- Generate kelp biomass (total for 3 sites): 1320 lb DW (proposed)  160 lb DW (to date)
- Remove nitrogen from Long Island Sound waters (total for 3 sites): 53 lb (proposed)  3.1 lb (to date)
- Remove carbon from Long Island Sound waters (total for 3 sites): 343 lb (proposed)  48 lb (to date)
-
Remove phosphorus from Long Island Sound waters (total for 3 sites): unspecified (proposed)  0.3 lb (to date)
Task 5 – Outreach and results dissemination.
5.1. Workshop
Two workshops were held to disseminate project results conducted in New York and Connecticut. Workshops were
advertised through various email listserves as well as direct contact to interested individuals. Target audience included
municipalities, regulatory agencies, NGOs and others who have expressed an interest in water quality enhancement. The
rationale to hold workshops in Connecticut and New York was to provide regulatory agencies, who have restricted travel
allowances, the opportunity to learn project results. Project information was summarized in the form of handouts and
provided to workshop participants.
The first workshop was held at one of the project partners’ facilities, the Bridgeport Regional Aquaculture Science and
Technology Center in Bridgeport, CT on April 3rd, 2013. In addition to project researchers, speakers included
representatives from federal and state agencies presenting on similar projects on bioextraction and on current programs
developed to improve water quality. A review of the aquaculture permitting process in Connecticut was also presented.
Twenty-six participants attended the workshop as well as a tour of the off-shore seaweed farm site.
Space at the Mamaroneck Town Center, located in Mamaroneck, NY, was donated to hold the second workshop on
October 10th, 2013. Twenty-two participants attended. In addition to previous methods in advertising the workshop, a
media advisory was developed and distributed with the assistance of Margret Van Patten, the Communications Director
for Connecticut Sea Grant. In addition to project researchers, additional speakers were invited to present similar projects
on bioextraction and on current programs developed to improve water quality. A review of the aquaculture permitting
process in New York coastal waters was also presented.
5.2. Cultivation manual
We have developed cultivation manual for sugar kelp. This cultivation manual is now available online
(http://s.uconn.edu/seaweedplaylist). Additional support for this manual and DVD was provided by CT Sea
Grant College Program (R/A-38 and R/A-39) and NOAA SBIR I and II (WC133R10CN0221).
5.3. Presentations
We have presented some of the project results in relevant and appropriate events (Northeast Algal Symposium (April,
2013 and 2014); Annual meetings of Phycological Society of America (Aug., 2013); Aquaculture America (Feb., 2013);
Northeast Aquaculture Conference and Exposition (Dec., 2012); ASLO (Feb., 2013); Long Island Sound Research
Conference (April, 2013); Ocean Sciences Meetings (Feb., 2014) and Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting (May, 2014). Dr.
Yarish made an invited keynote presentation at a Maine Sea Grant seaweed aquaculture workshop, entitled “The Seaweed
Scene 2013” Aug. 29, 2013.
Drs. Yarish and Kim, and BRASTEC’s director John Curtis, were invited to present at the 1st International Integrated
Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) symposium in Busan, Korea, Mar. 28-29, 2013.
The PIs have also presented at other public events as a key note speaker or an invited speaker, including
The Society of In Vitro Biology Annual Meeting (June, 2013), CT Cosmetic Society annual meeting (Sept., 2013), CT
NOFA's 32nd Annual Winter Conference (Mar. 2014). BRASTEC’s first ‘Chef Event’ for seaweed (May, 2013), Long
Island Sound Educators Conference (Southeastern New England Marine Educators; April, 2014), Ocean Science Public
Lecture Series at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Florida Atlantic University (May, 2014), Three Revisers
Community College (May 2014), CT nitrogen Trading Board (July, 2014), Nature Center at Sherwood Island State Park
(June 2014), Maine Seaweed Festival (Aug. 2014), Mystic Aquarium’s Ridgeway Seminar Series (Sept., 2014), etc.
5.4. Publications:
Kim J.K., G.P. Kraemer and C. Yarish. submitted. Sugar kelp aquaculture in Long Island Sound and the Bronx River
Estuary for nutrient bioextraction and ecosystem services. Estuaries and Coasts.
Kraemer, G.P., J.K. Kim and C. Yarish. 2014. Seaweed aquaculture: bioextraction of nutrients to reduce eutrophication.
Association of Massachusetts Wetland Scientists Newsletter. April 2014 No. 89, 16-17.
Kim J.K., G.P. Kraemer and C. Yarish. 2014. Integrated multi-tropic aquaculture in the U.S.A. In Greening the Blue
Revolution: the Turquoise Revolution of Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) (Eds. Chopin T., A.
Buschmann, and A. Neori). Springer. In press.
Redmond, S., L. Green, C. Yarish, J.K. Kim, and C. Neefus. 2014. New England Seaweed Culture Handbook-Nursery
Systems. Connecticut Sea Grant CTSG-14-01. 92 pp. PDF file. URL:
http://seagrant.uconn.edu/publications/aquaculture/handbook.pdf. 92 pp)
Redmond, S., L. Green, C. Yarish, J. Kim, and C. Neefus. 2014. New England Seaweed Culture Handbook-Nursery
Systems. (DVD) http://s.uconn.edu/seaweedplaylist
5.5. Other Outreach Activities:
The PIs also have trained BRASTEC students, faculty and staff on sugar kelp nursery techniques. A demonstration
nursery system is in place at BRASTEC. Drs. Yarish and Kim received Connecticut Quality Improvement Award (CQIA)
Innovation Prize (June 2013). This award was for Performance Excellence criteria in an effort to advance innovative
programs that improve quality performance and marketplace competitiveness. Dr. Yarish also received UCONN’s 2013
Provost Award for his contributions in outreach, service and research, Best Presentation Award from CT Cosmetic
Society (Mar., 2014). Our effort to promote ecosystem services provided by kelp, along with Dr. Wikfors’ team at NOAA
Milford lab, recently received national acknowledge by US EPA in their annual report (attached). Dr. Yarish also
participated in a National Webinar for the US EPA on Nutrient Bioextraction (Nov. 21, 2013). UCONN’s School of
Business team (lead by T. Dowding) along with the School of Law developed a regulatory frame work for seaweed
aquacultre which was passed by the CT State legislature (PA 13-238, SB 803) and signed by the Governor D. Malloy on
July 2nd, 2013. This regulatory frame work provides the Bureau of Aquaculture of CT’s Department of Agriculture as the
primary regulatory authority for seaweed aquaculture in CT. UCONN’s School of Business team (lead by T. Dowding)
along with the UCONN PIs (C. Yarish and J.K. Kim) developed a business plan for non-profit seedstock nursery for the
sugar kelp. We determined $2.00 per meter as the breakeven price for seedstring based on costs of the kelp nursery
system at UCONN, assuming that up to 4,000m of seedstring can be produced per year. The School of Business and the
PIs also worked with UCONN’s School of Engineering determining the sugar content in the kelp grown in LIS. The LIS
grown sugar kelp contained a high concentration of sugar, 45.3%. This will be important for biofuel applications of the
sugar kelp biomass, if there are no other applications of the biomass.
Outcomes:
- Involve high school and college in research activities: 5 (proposed)  3 (to date; UCONN, Purchase College and
BRASTEC)
- Involve high school and college students in research activities: 18 (proposed)  25 (to date)
- Requests of assistance to establish seaweed aquaculture system (post-grant): 10 (proposed)  5 (to date)
- Adoptions of seaweed aquaculture as part of water quality enhancement program (post-grant): 3 (proposed)  0 (to
date)
- Present workshop to fisheries industry, NGOs, Shellfish Commissions about how to set up bioextraction facility:1
(proposed)  2 (to date)
- Produce how to manual and distribute to NGOs, fishing industry and other entities who may apply technology:1
(proposed)  1 (to date)
- Present at regional conferences about project: 6 (proposed)  37 (to date)
- Produce articles for scientific publications: 2 (proposed)  1 in press and 1 in review (to date)
- Produce miscellaneous articles: unspecified (proposed)  3 (to date)
-
Work with regional and local media to do articles about project: 3 (proposed)  18 (to date)
3. Lessons Learned
Describe the key lessons learned from this project, such as the least and most effective conservation practices or notable
aspects of the project’s methods, monitoring, or results. How could other conservation organizations adapt their projects
to build upon some of these key lessons about what worked best and what did not?
1. The sugar kelp, Saccharina latissima, grew well under different environmental conditions and extracted nutrients
from LIS and the Bronx River estuary (BRE), demonstrating that nutrient bioextraction by seaweed aquaculture
can be an effective coastal nutrient management tool in urbanized estuaries.
2. The δ15N values indicated that wastewater treatment plants were the primary nitrogen sources for the growth of
the sugar kelp at the western of the central LIS farm sites. Surprisingly, we found no influence of the wastewater
treatment plant discharge at the BRE site, even though it is closest to a wastewater treatment plant. It may be
because the super storm Sandy in October - November, 2012 and winter storms (e.g. January, 2013, Nor’Easter)
during the growing season at the Bronx site, might have resuspended surface sediments, resulting in the washing
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
away of the heavier nitrogen isotope (15N) and subsequent release of 14N enriched nitrogen from the sediment, as
well as the flushing of lighter nitrogen from terrestrial systems.
The potential monetary value of N sequestration by the sugar kelp at each site is up to $1,600 ha-1 (BRE), $760 ha1
(western LIS) and $430 ha-1 (central LIS). The potential economic values of C sequestration are up to $30-$300
ha-1, $40-$400 ha-1, and $24-$240 ha-1, respectively. These values reflect incorporation into nitrogen and carbon
trading programs.
When sufficient nutrients were available for the growth of the sugar kelp (i.e. BRE), the growing season for the
sugar kelp may be extended to very late spring, which has never been reported in the scientific literature.
Salinity fluctuation at the BRE site did not affect the productivity of the sugar kelp, maybe due to the sufficient
nutrients but might affect the morphology (thickness) of the sugar kelp.
Advantages of sugar kelp aquaculture in highly urbanized estuaries such as Long Island Sound and New York
estuaries are 1) the growing season of the sugar kelp rarely overlaps with the period of heavy recreational boat
activities; 2) the sugar kelp growing season occurs during the off-season for shellfish farming, and; 3) cultivation
requires minimum maintenance effort and, hence, cost until harvest.
Challenges include natural disasters (e.g. Nor’easters, storms, etc.) during the winter season as we had
experienced during our study period. It is, therefore, important to have an appropriate farm design and to
determine appropriate locations considering environmental factors including waves, currents, nutrient conditions,
salinity, sediment types, etc.
4. Dissemination
Briefly identify any dissemination of lessons learned or other project results to external audiences, such as the public,
governmental agencies, educational entities, scientific, community-based and conservation organizations.
Our Nutrient Bioextraction project was selected as one of the best practices of EPA in 2012/2013 FY (Going Really
Green: Sea Farming for Environmental and Economic Benefits;
http://water.epa.gov/resource_performance/performance/upload/7-Going-Really-Green-Sea-Farming-for-Environmentaland-Economic-Benefits.pdf).
Our work has received a great deal of media attention (both TV and print), including The Wall Street Journal, CNN,
Hartford Current, NPR, Scientific American, New Haven Register, CBS news, The Day, CT Post, CT.com, Westchester
Magazine, River Head News Review, Wildfoodgirl.com, 27east.com, lohud.com, etc. (attached).
5. Maintenance and Management
Describe specific provisions for long-term maintenance, management and protection, as appropriate, associated with
project (i.e., maintenance of debris-catching devices, LWD jams, or removing blockages etc.)?
N/A
6. Partners:
Describe the contribution of any partnering organization to the project or new partnerships that were developed as a
result of the project?
Purchase College (G.P. Kraemer) worked with UCONN PIs (C. Yarish and J.K. Kim) for the design of experiments,
writing manuscripts and reports, presentations. Purchase College also provided student labor to support the field
and laboratory work.
Rocking the Boat (RTB) provided all the necessary logistic field and boat support for the project. RTB was also
in support of the development and supervision of the kelp long-lines at their farm site at the Bronx River
estuary, NY.
BRASTEC was in support of lab-based activities including maintenance and supervision of the sugar kelp nursery system
at BRASTEC. BRASTEC also provided logistic field and boat support for the project and also services for the
development and supervision of their Fairfield kelp farm site.
Thimble Island Oyster Co.: provided all the necessary logistic field and boat support for the project at their sugar
kelp farm site at the Thimble Islands, Branford, CT. Thimble Island Oyster Co. also provided services for
the maintenance and supervision of the kelp long-lines at their farm site.
7. Project Documents
Include in your final programmatic report, via the Uploads section of this task, the following:



2-5 representative photos from the project. Photos need to have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi;
report publications, GIS data, brochures, videos, outreach tools, press releases, media coverage;
any other project deliverables per the terms of your grant agreement and in your original proposal.
POSTING OF FINAL REPORT: This report and attached project documents may be shared by the Foundation and any
Funding Source for the Project via their respective websites. In the event that the Recipient intends to claim that its final
report or project documents contains material that does not have to be posted on such websites because it is protected
from disclosure by statutory or regulatory provisions, the Recipient shall clearly mark all such potentially protected
materials as “PROTECTED” and provide an explanation and complete citation to the statutory or regulatory source for
such protection.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/10/12/162728509/kelp-for-farmers-seaweed-becomes-a-newcrop-in-america
Kelp For Farmers: Seaweed Becomes A New Crop In America
OCT. 12, 2012
By CRAIG LEMOULT
A new kind of crop is being planted in the United States, and it doesn't require any land or fertilizer.
Farming it improves the environment, and it can be used in a number of ways. So what is this miracle
cash crop of the future?
It's seaweed.
Charlie Yarish, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut, loves
seaweed. In nature, he says, when seaweed turns a rich chocolate color, that means the plant is picking up
nitrogen, a process called nutrient bioextraction.
And for Yarish, this nitrogen extraction is the most exciting aspect of seaweed farming. Many plants and
animals cannot survive when there is too much nitrogen in the water, but seaweed is able to "capture" the
nitrogen, as well as contaminants in the water.
A United Nations report says that nearly 16 million tons of seaweed were farmed in 2008 — most of it in
Asia. Yarish helped a company called Ocean Approved start the United States' first open-water kelp farm
in the Gulf of Maine in 2006, and the business is growing. Now, he's helping to create a seaweed farm off
the coast of Connecticut.
Bren Smith owns and runs the Thimble Island Oyster Company, off the coast of Branford, Conn. After
his business was hit hard by Tropical Storm Irene last year, ruining about 80 percent of the shellfish crop,
Smith started looking around for something more resilient to farm. That's when he found Yarish, who
agreed to help set him up in the seaweed farming business.
This fall, in the water above his shellfishing lines, he'll stretch a 150-foot line about a meter below the
surface of the water. They'll be seeded with kelp spores grown in Yarish's lab.
"There's no barns, there's no tractors. This is what's so special about ocean farming. It's that it's got a
small footprint and it's under the water. I mean, we're so lucky; I feel like I stumbled on this just great
secret that we then can model and spread out to other places," Smith says.
Kelp grows in the winter time, and by spring, Smith should have 9 to 12 feet of growth. He and Yarish
are hoping to try another species in the summer. Because shellfishing is so heavily regulated, the waters
near the Thimble Islands are clean, and the seaweed is safe to eat. And it will also help remove nitrogen
from the water.
"The plan is to actually split it into a couple different experimental markets — one for food, one for
fertilizer, one for fish food. I'm [also] working with a skin care company in Connecticut, and then one for
biofuel," Smith says. He's even hoping he can someday fuel his own boat with biofuel from the seaweed.
Smith is most hopeful that seaweed will take off as a food, but here's the big question: Will Americans eat
seaweed? "If I can't figure out how [to] make this taste good, I'm going to lose a lot of money out here,"
he says.
That's where chefs like David Santos come in. Santos has worked at some top restaurants in New Jersey
and New York. He now runs a private supper club in the New York area, and is planning to open his own
restaurant soon.
Santos says the food world works in kind of a trickle-down way, starting with the fancy restaurants. "If
the big chefs don't use it, it will never catch. Like, it just won't," he says.
But seaweed is a great ingredient, Santos says, and if chefs start having access to a fresh locally farmed
product, they'll start using it. "So if you're the cool guy using the fresh seaweed first, like, that's a big
deal," he says.
Santos says he's hoping to go to Bren Smith's Connecticut farm this spring with some of his chef friends
to check it out for themselves. But he's also looking forward to creating some new seaweed dishes.
Tags: seaweed farming
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323415304578368530350386620.html#articleTabs
%3Darticle
Life Down on the Kelp Farm
March 19, 2013,
By JOSEPH DE AVILA
BRANFORD, Conn.—From the bobbing deck of his 24-foot boat in Long Island Sound, a quarter mile
from shore, Bren Smith pulled out of the water a rope draped with ribbon-shaped blades of fresh sugar
kelp.
He grabbed a few handfuls of the green, nearly translucent variety of seaweed for samples he planned to
serve at lunch with a chef and organic farmer. Mr. Smith, who has cultivated shellfish such as oysters and
clams for years, is now also a seaweed farmer. He said his fellow fishermen have been skeptical.
"They think I'm crazy," he said. They ask, "'Why would anyone eat seaweed? It's stuff you find on the
beach.'"
The Branford man hopes to become the first to market farmed seaweed from Long Island Sound. Asia
dominates production in the $7.1 billion seaweed industry, and only a few companies in the U.S. harvest
it. Seaweed is sold for sushi, for salads, as a dried snack and as a fertilizer ingredient, among many uses.
Most of those U.S. companies sell wild seaweed. Mr. Smith, the owner of the Thimble Island Oyster Co.,
hopes his locally farmed seaweed will appeal to foodies and chefs in the region.
Benjamin Lowy for The Wall Street Journal
Prof. Charles Yarish grows a variety of kelp in the University of Connecticut's marine biology labs in
Stamford.
"We have great resources in Long Island Sound, and we think there is significant potential in this area,"
said Steven Reviczky, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Agriculture.
Mr. Smith decided to diversify his commercial-fishing business by growing kelp in the winter—when he
isn't as busy harvesting shellfish—and to reduce his crops' exposure to violent weather. The tidal surges
associated with superstorm Sandy and Tropical Storm Irene stirred up mud that killed his shellfish.
While Mr. Smith awaits a state permit to sell the kelp, he is giving away samples to chefs and others.
"It's wicked clean," said Chef Brad Stabinsky of Chamard Vineyards and Bistro in Clinton, Conn. "I
found it to be tender....It has a nice mineral component to it that I liked.
It wasn't that powerful of seaweed at that stage of growth."
Mr. Stabinsky recently made a béarnaise sauce but swapped out tarragon for Mr. Smith's kelp and served
that on top of raw oysters. "I loved it and my staff loved it," he said.
Mayur Subbarao of Bittermens Spirits, a liquor company in New Orleans, also has been experimenting
with Mr. Smith's kelp by infusing various boozy concoctions with it. "I haven't had anybody say these
things are weird," Mr. Subbarao said. "If anything, I think people are intrigued."
Mr. Smith's kelp got its start in a University of Connecticut lab in Stamford. Charles Yarish, a professor at
the university who has studied seaweed cultivation for more than two decades, grows sugar-kelp seeds
there for a project he runs with Purchase College in New York. He also grows a red, bushy seaweed
called gracilaria.
Nature groups like the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and government-funded research
organizations such as Connecticut Sea Grant and the Long Island Sound Study sponsored Mr. Yarish's
seaweed project to show how seaweed can keep nutrient pollution in check.
For decades, discharges by wastewater treatment plants and land runoff have led to excessive levels of
nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in Long Island Sound. Nutrient overloads lead to low levels of
dissolved oxygen in the water, which can kill fish.
Seaweed can help. "They suck up a lot of dissolved nutrients," said George Kraemer, professor of
Biology and Environmental Studies at Purchase College.
Regulations in Connecticut pose one hurdle to the industry, said Tim Dowding, professor-in-residence at
the University of Connecticut's School of Business. The seaweed needs to be tested for toxins such as
mercury and pathogens such as salmonella. That can be a time-consuming process, he said.
Some of his students who are studying how to start businesses processing seaweed for products such as
fertilizers have experienced long waits for state approvals. "The challenge is cutting through the
bureaucratic quagmire," Mr. Dowding said.
"Anything like this that is breaking new ground is a challenge and takes time," said Mr. Reviczky of the
Department of Agriculture.
In water 20 to 25 feet deep just off the Thimble Islands, Mr. Smith has set up two, 150-foot lines of rope
that are submerged about three feet below the water's surface and held into place by chains and 400pound anchors.
The kelp seeds, grown on a string back at the university lab, are wrapped around the 150-foot lines.
Sugar kelp is best harvested after one month to three months, when it has reached one to three feet in
length, Mr. Smith said. Much longer than that, and it becomes rubbery.
He plans to harvest about two tons of sugar kelp by the end of the winter season. Next year, he's shooting
for 21 tons. He admits it is far from certain whether he will find enough chefs and regular consumers who
want a fresh, local option for kelp.
"That is the 'what if?'" Mr. Smith said. "Luckily, it tastes good."
http://www.ct.com/news/advocates/latest-news/nm-ht15ncseaweed-20130409,0,961288.story
Seaweed Farming in the Connecticut Sound Could
Help Grow the Economy
By Gregory B. Hladky
April 10, 2013
A 21st century riddle for you: What's slimy, green and brown, sometimes smelly and disgusting, but also
a potentially wonderful anti-pollution tool that's good to eat and
could turn into an economic pot of gold for Connecticut?
The answer, of course, is seaweed.
That's right, the same sort of icky stuff that can pile up at the beach or wrap around your
legs when you're walking through the waves at Hammonasset or Silver Sands.
Seaweed has got a lot of Connecticut folks all hot and bothered these days. They include scientists at the
University of Connecticut, state aquaculture honchos, federal and state marine experts, environmentalists,
students at a Bridgeport science and technical school, and a shellfishing outfit in Branford that wants to
become this state's first seaweed-farming operation.
Connecticut's legislature is right now considering a bill to create a new and much simpler licensing
system to make it easier for potential seaweed farmers to start growing the stuff in Long Island Sound.
One major reason for all the excitement is that seaweed turns out to be a great way to suck up some of the
nitrogen pollution that's been screwing up Long Island Sound.
"I made that suggestion 20 years ago to the EPA and no one was interested," Charles
Yarish says with a chuckle.
Yarish is a top researcher with UConn's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Marine
Sciences and the acknowledged guru of seaweed farming. He's been studying seaweed — as a source of
food for humans and livestock as well as an anti-pollution engine — for decades.
"We are the leading [seaweed] operation in the U.S. right now," Yarish says with pride.
Yarish has been growing seaweed in his Stamford lab and in Long Island Sound plots off Fairfield and
the mouth of the Bronx River for years. Those seaweed farms have produced some astonishing numbers
for cutting nitrogen pollution in seawater.
Nitrogen gets into the Sound from sewage treatment plants (there are 79 in Connecticut
alone), industrial waste, agricultural farmland and from all the fertilizer spread on suburban lawns that
gets washed into rivers and streams.
All those tons and tons of nitrogen trigger huge blooms in aquatic plants. They die and get eaten by
bacteria and algae, which use up most of the oxygen in the water. In some parts of the Sound, this
pollution cycle can suffocate or drive away other marine organisms like fish and lobsters. It's the nitrogen
pollution that causes those red and brown "tides" of algae that force officials to occasionally shut down
beaches.
Yarish gets all whipped up when talking about how much nitrogen his seaweed can remove from the
Sound's waters. (The seaweed simply takes up and processes the stuff, just the way plants on land take up
fertilizer, and the nitrogen that's a pollutant in seawater is turned into edible vegetable matter in the
plants.)
In a one hectare (that's about 2.47 acres) plot, Yarish has achieved from six-to-eight kilos of nitrogen
removed in an October test, to 33-60 kilos (as much as 145 pounds) of nitrogen removed from the water
in a July experiment.
"It's a huge nitrogen remover," says Kristin DeRosia-Banick, a state environmental analyst with the
Bureau of Aquaculture.
Yarish and his colleagues are cultivating seaweed seeds (one type for a summer crop called
"sea asparagus" and another for a winter crop known as "sugar kelp") in tanks at their
UConn lab. He's helped get one seaweed farm going in Maine and is working on another that's ready to
harvest its first crop next month from the waters off Branford's Thimble Islands.
The seaweed is grown attached to long lines anchored in waters 20-25 feet deep, and when it's long
enough, the farmer cuts off the vegetation and brings it to shore for processing or sale.
The kicker to all this is that the seaweed these people are growing can be eaten. (It's
always been used as a fertilizer — Native Americans were doing that when the settlers
arrived from Europe.)
It's good for animal food, and more and more restaurants across the country are finding
ways to use seaweed beyond sushi. Seaweed is being touted as a fantastic health food that can help with
everything from weight loss to lowering blood pressure.
In fact, Yarish told lawmakers, there are 50 pounds of "high-quality, vacuum-packed kelp pasta noodles"
stored in a freezer at the Bridgeport Regional Aquaculture Science and Technology Education Center. All
that's needed is state approval and those noodles could be sold to restaurants and consumers.
http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Kids-prepare-chef-prepared-seaweed-recipes-4488773.php
Kids prepare chef-prepared seaweed recipes
Linda Conner Lambeck
May 4, 2013
BRIDGEPORT -- Kelly DeMeo, a junior at Bridgeport's Regional Aquaculture Science and Technology
Education Center, is more apt to name her seafood than eat it.
Even so, DeMeo, of Fairfield, was game to try the seaweed that was incorporated into a number of recipes
at the school's first-ever celebrity chef event.
"I'll tell you why you should eat seaweed. Most of the popular food we eat today is incredibly unhealthy
for us -- beef, corn, soy. We need to start thinking about foods that are not necessarily popular, but are
incredibly good for our bodies and restorative and regenerative, like seaweed," Chef Bun Lai, of Miya's
Sushi in New Haven, told the 60 invited guests at the event.
Lai called seaweed a "super food."
Along with Mark Shadle, owner of G-Zen, a Branford restaurant that specializes in vegan and raw foods,
the pair whipped up a menu that included a seaweed miso soup, watercress and sea asparagus salad, a
tilapia dish with seaweed garnish and seaweed-wrapped sushi that the audience helped assemble.
The event took place at Angie's At Aqua, the school's open-to-the-public seafood market.
The demonstration is something school director John Curtis has envisioned hosting ever since an addition
was built onto the school two years ago to include the market and seafood-spawning laboratories.
"This will be the first of many," Curtis said.
Home to boat-building, tilapia-breeding and lobster-restoration projects, Aqua is now growing its own
seaweed in Long Island Sound with the help of the University of Connecticut and hopes legislation being
considered by the state Legislature this spring will allow it to package and sell it to the public.
Charles Yarish, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UConn's Stamford campus, said
seaweed -- what he calls sea vegetables -- has a potential to be a much bigger business than it is in the
United States. Worldwide it is a $5 to $7 billion industry, but most seaweed today comes from China,
Korea and Japan. The United States accounts for only $35 million of seaweed sales.
"Growing seaweed locally can ensure a cleaner, higher-quality product," said Yarish. "It's like eating
green vegetables. You get all the nutrients it soaks up."
And it can help clean up the sound, as well.
Yarish grows local kelp, a brownish type of seaweed, from microscopic stages on string in his laboratory.
When the kelp is about the size of a pinhead, it is moved to Long Island Sound and the seeded string is
unwound on long lines that are suspended 3-6 feet below the surface. Yarish oversees three farm sites in
the sound, which have 250 feet of line at each site.
Low in cholesterol and high in fiber, seaweed is packed with Vitamins C and K, calcium, iron and
magnesium. It is not only good for human consumption, but can be used in pet foods, shampoos,
cosmetics and fertilizers.
Treasen Hooper, an Aqua senior from of Bridgeport who helped prepare the feast, made a face at the dry,
salty seaweed.
"It is an acquired taste," she said.
It's "different, but not disgusting or anything," said Ophelia Barnett, also a senior from Bridgeport.
The seaweed used for the demonstration came from the Baby Kelp Leaf Company in the Thimble Islands.
It will be first in line to market seaweed if the state Legislature agrees to license the practice.
Abby Pierger, a senior at Aqua from Trumbull, said her experience with seaweed was at a "seaweed
party" held at the school in her sophomore year. She said the seaweed-infused chocolate milk wasn't bad.
Curtis said he started eating seaweed -- of the nori variety -- on his first trip to Asia in 1998. Now, he
is hooked.
http://www.theday.com/article/20130527/NWS01/305279955/1070
Long Island Sound delicacy on NYC menus, and it isn't fish, it's seaweed
By Judy Benson
May 27, 2013
Kelp shipment marks first sale of new effort
Branford - In a first for Long Island Sound, 120 pounds of kelp farmed in waters near the Thimble Islands
has made its way to the plates and soupbowls of New York City restaurants.
"We're the only one in the country selling a fresh kelp product," said Bren Smith, owner of the Thimble
Island Oyster Co., which grew the long, wide kelp ribbons on a 20-acre plot where he also raises oysters,
mussels and clams. "It has a short shelf life, but because I'm close to New York City, I can sell it directly
there."
Margaret Van Patten, communications director of Connecticut Sea Grant, said the sale is significant
because it marks the first time seaweed farmed in the Sound has been sold as a food product.
Sea Grant, based at the University of Connecticut's Avery Point campus in Groton, worked with Smith, as
did Charles Yarish, a UConn professor of ecology and evolutionary biology who has been involved in
seaweed research for decades. Before the sale took place about three weeks ago, Smith had to obtain
permits from the state Department of Public Health and the state Department of Consumer Protection.
The kelp was also subjected to product safety tests, which required the purchase of new equipment that
was funded by Sea Grant.
"Now that this has proved successful, Sea Grant is going to be looking to work with more people who
want to grow this crop," Van Patten said.
David Carey, director of the Aquaculture division of the state Department of Agriculture, said the permits
created for this new crop specify that it can be grown only in areas also approved for shellfish farming, so
it must meet the same water quality standards.
"We're excited about this," Carey said, adding that he sees potential for former lobstermen who lost their
livelihood when the lobster population declined to repurpose their boats for seaweed farming.
"Their boats would be the perfect size," he said.
To develop this market, he said, more research and investment is needed in economical ways of
processing seaweed and increasing the market.
In addition to the permits and testing for the fresh product, Smith has also obtained the approvals to
blanch, freeze, package and sell processed kelp. He is using facilities at the Bridgeport Regional
Aquaculture Science & Technology Education Center for the processing.
Chefs in New York are using the kelp in soups, salads, butter and some Nordic cuisine dishes, he said.
Some are also working to develop dishes such as kelp ice cream, cocktails and pickles. The kelp he is
growing, raised from native seed stock originally from a site off Pine Island in Groton collected by
Yarish, is not the type of seaweed used in sushi dishes. While the markets and uses for local kelp are still
emerging, he said, it was more commonly eaten in past decades.
"We're trying to reclaim a very old tradition," he said. "It's a really good local food."
He is also selling his harvest to Yale for use as a fertilizer on its farm. Over the next few months, he plans
to triple his kelp production and try to grow other types of seaweed.
Smith said he turned to seaweed farming after 80 percent of his shellfish crop was wiped out by Hurricane
Irene and Superstorm Sandy. He started doing research on the Internet about other crops he could grow in
his shellfish beds, and came across references to Yarish and his seaweed research.
Yarish said Smith's success "will open people's eyes" about the potential for seaweed farming in Long
Island Sound. Several areas in the eastern Sound would be suitable, he added. Areas with good water
quality and water depths of 20 feet to 100 feet are required. To help foster interest in others starting
seaweed farms, Yarish is working with Sea Grant to develop a kelp cultivation manual.
The kelp Smith is growing, known as sugar kelp, "is the same stuff you find walking at Ocean Beach
Park.
"This is local, high yield and sustainable," Yarish said.
Yarish is growing different types of seaweed at sites off Fairfield and in the East River near New York
City, among others. In addition to promoting it as a highly nutritious food, Yarish said he and UConn are
also partnering with a Shelton-based startup, Sea Green Organics, on an organic seaweed-based fertilizer.
This article distributed to other via AP, including
http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/2013/06/02/kelp-from-sound-farmed-forrestaurants/MmoK8jCr34CcJ4XPr67UwL/story.html
http://washingtonexaminer.com/kelp-from-li-sound-farmed-for-restaurants/article/feed/2103219
http://www.yourpublicmedia.org/content/wnpr/seaweed-and-sound
Seaweed And The Sound
ONE FISHERMAN EMBARKING ON NEW ENTERPRISE
By WNPR Staff, Jan Ellen Spiegel
May 21, 2013
For the last decade or so, Connecticut’s fishermen and shellfishermen have weathered a nearly non-stop
storm of difficulties; some related to climate change; some from pollution.
One fisherman who has had enough is embarking on a new enterprise that many hope will help to save or
create jobs on Long Island Sound, and clean it up.
Brendan Smith: Isn’t it beautiful? Look at that.
What Brendan Smith is calling beautiful is a long rope covered with slimy, green, wet seaweed. He’s
hoisted it high against a deep blue sky above Long Island Sound in the Thimble Islands.
Seaweed or kelp – whatever you choose to call it, may be a perpetual bane to outboard motors – but to
Smith – it’s the future.
Smith: This line right here this is 2 months of growth.
For 10 years Smith has farmed the Sound as the Thimble Island Oyster Company.
Smith: I’ve been wiped out 3 times from different storms, from mud, from everything form starfish to
drills to other kinds of critters that kill my oysters. So I actually got online and started searching on
Google looking for other ways to grow things. It just so happened that the world’s expert on growing
seaweed was in Stamford at UConn.
That would be Charlie Yarish. For decades he’s researched seaweed’s natural ability to soak up
substances that can harm the Sound like nitrogen and phosphorus that runoff from the fertilizers people
put on their lawns.
Yarish: It is something that the Asians been doing for a long time and we can start doing that using our
own farming technologies.
Smith decided to try it – but he was thinking food. Working with Yarish he planted sugar kelp to sell
fresh – kelp sold in this country is usually dried or processed. And he wanted to supply it for fertilizer and
even for biofuel. But first he had to get through a laundry list of state and federal permits for everything
from the gear he needed to authorization for the kelp as an approved food source.
It took a year and thousands of dollars for the gear – that happened last August. And only recently has he
gotten the final OK to sell it as food. In the interim legislation to streamline permitting was proposed.
Despite widespread support it remains stalled in the legislature.
The plan is to use the Department of Agriculture’s aquaculture bureau as one-stop-permit-shopping says
director Dave Carey.
Carey: It’s never gonna be a simple process like it is when you purchase a piece of land and want to grow
lettuce. The processes for that are a lot easier because the public doesn’t have access to that land.
Smith has already delivered a load of kelp to Yale University’s farm to make into fertilizer. Farm
manager Jeremy Oldfield says the kelp closes an environmental loop because it provides the nitrogen and
potassium the fields need, but that also end up in the Sound through runoff. Kelp absorbs that and returns
it to the farm.
Oldfield: We wind up being much more responsible stewards of the land than we were formerly able to
be. I do think the idea of helping Bren in an effort to sort of diversify his income stream off of kelp.That’s
just exciting for us.
Among the restaurants Smith hopes to sell to is the Bistro at Chamard Vineyard. Executive chef, Brad
Stabinsky has experimented with Smith’s kelp. He wrapped it around oysters, breaded and fried them;
made a béarnaise sauce with kelp instead of tarragon; and added raw kelp to salad. He says he’ll put kelp
on his menu occasionally.
Stabinsky: Why not? If it’s safe, if it’s delicious (laughs) or if we can find ways to make it delicious and
have something else that I can show the people here once in awhile about being local, what’s wrong with
that? 7I think it’s great.
Bren Smith calls his seaweed a fisherman’s dream crop, though he does miss the thrill of the high seas.
Smith: We chase fish, we’re out on the high seas so this idea that we’re gonna start farming arugula and
cabbage it’s a real challenge to the identity in many ways.
On the other hand, he hopes it's a way he and others can stay in business.
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/06/20/long-island-sound-cash-crop-makes-its-way-tomanhattan-tables/
Long Island Sound Cash Crop Makes Its Way To Manhattan Tables
It's Rich In Vitamins And Antioxidants, But It's Not What You Think It Is
June 20, 2013 11:38 PM
NEW YORK (CBS 2) — The latest cash crop in the farm-to-table food craze doesn’t come from the
land; it comes from the Long Island Sound.
In spite of what you might think, this new cash crop isn’t shell-fish; it’s kelp. The superfood is loaded
with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, and is being served up at local restaurants .
“We’re just in the tail end of harvesting season,” Bren Smith told CBS 2′s Maurice Dubois.
Smith claims to be the first one in the country to sell fresh kelp — an easy to grow, highly nutritious, sea
vegetable.
“It’s already been pre-ordered, restaurants want it, I can’t grow enough of it,” he said.
Kelp farming is the 20-year-old brain child of Dr. Charlie Yarish, who recently started his first research
crop in the East River.
“My colleagues in science said it’s impossible to do that in the greater metropolitan area, and I said, it’s
not impossible,” he told CBS 2′s Dubois.
In addition to being a viable food source, Dr. Yarish said kelp can be used as an inexpensive bio-fuel and
as a natural fertilizer. It also plays a role in cleaning local water.
“I’m a happy scientist right now. How many people think you can have a kelp farm in the East River and
do some environmental good?” he asked.
Some of the kelp grown on Smith’s farm has been incorporated into the curriculum at a local high school,
where students cleaned and processed it before it was distributed to restaurants like Louro in Greenwich
Village.
“It’s been a lot of fun exploring what you can do with this product,” Chef Dave Santos said. “When you
taste it, it has an al dente quality.”
Santos couldn’t stop singing the praises of kelp.
“It’s the epitome of what we talk about as chefs, love and care in the growth, and production, and ti’s
local,” he said.
The idea of eating kelp may be familiar to fans of sushi and other Asian cuisines, but this is the first time
that it has been grown locally and incorporated into mainstream menus.
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2013/07/21/news/doc51eb4aea41f7b501508220.txt
Seaweed may offer lucrative future for Connecticut aquaculture
July 21, 2013
By Mark Zaretsky
BRANFORD >> Just a few months ago, there was no Long Island Sound seaweed industry at all.
Now, sugar kelp produced through decades of research at the University of Connecticut in Stamford,
under the direction of one of the world’s authorities on seaweed, and grown in the Thimble Islands by
former shellfisherman Bren Smith of Guilford is being served in cutting-edge restaurants in New York
City.
Kelp butter, kelp ice cream, kelp “pasta” all have turned up in recent months on menus at Manhattan
restaurants and supper clubs aimed at “really high-end foodies,” according to Smith and some of the
people experimenting with it as an ingredient.
Smith’s kelp, grown in the late fall, winter and spring in an offshore area leased from the town of
Branford, also is being experimented with as a flavoring in a savory “shrub” that a Manhattan spirits
company uses to make trendy, kelp martinis and other premium cocktails.
Some of Smith’s kelp also is being used as fertilizer for the Yale Sustainable Food Project’s organic farm
in New Haven — even as a Shelton-based spin-off of research at UConn-Stamford works to bring an
organic Long Island Sound seaweed-based fertilizer to market.
Meanwhile, a different, seaweed, gracilaria, that UConn-Stamford professor Charles Yarish and his
colleagues are test-growing, is being eyed as a summer crop.
They’re growing it in the Sound and in tanks in Bridgeport’s Black Rock section with the help of students
and staff at the Bridgeport Regional Aquaculture Science and Technology Education Center, part of the
city public school system.
The new industry, fueled by the internationally recognized research of Yarish and his colleagues at
UConn-Stamford, including professors Jang Kim, Tim Dowding and others, may well be the future for
Connecticut aquaculture
http://www.yourpublicmedia.org/content/wnpr/lobsters-are-out-eels-are-seaweed-will-save-us-all
Lobsters Are Out, Eels Are In, & Seaweed Will Save Us All
A DISCUSSION ON OCEANS AND RIVERS IN CONNECTICUT.
By Colin McEnroe
Aug 26, 2013
Today it's lobsters, eels and seaweed.
We like to eat things that come out of the water, but we're not always smart about taking care of the
happy aquatic hunting grounds. Lobster harvests have seen some bumper crops recently, but that could
lead to a false sense of security. There's a sweet spot, temp-wise, for lobsters, and if things get too warm
in the water, we could go from feast to famine.
Meanwhile, there's a bull market for juvenile eels, driven by Asian consumers, who have screwed up eels
stocks in ways that are both within and outside of their control. On this continent, eels have their own
problems which may well be exacerbated by the way they're suddenly worth a lot of money. And lastly,
what we hope is a hopeful story about seaweed, a promising crop if we don't screw it up.
Host: Colin McEnroe
Guest: David Simpson, James Prosek, Charles Yarish, Bun Lai
Contributor: Patrick Skahill, Chion Wolf
http://www.courant.com/business/hc-oyster-farming-20130901,0,868088.story
Seaweed Sends Oyster Farmer In Search Of New Markets
By WILLIAM WEIR
September 1, 2013
Bren Smith, owner of the Thimble Island Oyster Co., has a few hopes for the near future: that Connecticut
doesn't get hit with another hurricane this fall, and that his equipment holds up through the season.
Also, he hopes that people really like seaweed, because he expects to have two dozen tons of it by spring.
His shellfish and seaweed farm, kept on 20 acres in Long Island Sound among the Thimble Islands off
Branford, is the only commercial one of its kind in Connecticut. It's part of his diversification strategy to
adapt to the "new normal" of his industry: extreme weather, acidification, overfishing.
"People thought it was crazy that I'd be trying to grow vegetables [in the ocean]," he said. "It sounded
nuts. It still does."
But he also knows that he can't rely on any one product.
"Shellfish is a slow-growing species, relatively, and it takes a while to recover — that's why I have this
multi-species approach," he said. "If one species is having trouble, I can still go to market and have
something for my restaurants. The restaurants love that because they get variation instead of hundreds of
thousands of oysters."
Smith, 40, tried conventional shellfishing when he began leasing acres from the state in 2003 as part of a
program to encourage young fishermen. He started experimenting with seaweed three years ago. When
Sandy hit, the second major storm in as many years, he stepped up that part of his business.
Sandy and tropical storm Irene the year before wiped out his oyster crops. In a good year, he can harvest
about 150,000 shellfish. When a storm like Irene or Sandy hits, he said, 80 to 90 percent of his crop is
wiped out.
"It's the storm surges that bring 3 feet of mud," said Smith, who lives in Guilford. "That just buries
everything, and the oysters drown."
He raised more than $37,000 with a Kickstarter campaign, which funds creative projects, in July to pay
for new equipment, including 10 lines used to grow seaweed. The seeds are fertilized at the laboratory of
Charles Yarish, a seaweed researcher at UConn, and then placed on a thin line wrapped around a larger,
150-foot rope.
The seaweed grows about 6 feet below the surface. And it really grows. He'll seed it in November and
expects 24 tons of it by May. Sugar kelp is his main seaweed crop for now. He's been working for the past
few years, trying to create a market for it. Until now, he's had two lines of seaweed growing on his farm,
figuring the best system by trial and error. "The good thing is that I'm OK with failure," Smith said,
laughing.
He gave out much of what he grew, often to chefs at trendy restaurants. One of those chefs, David Santos,
said his most popular kelp dish at his Manhattan restaurant, Louro, is a fra diavalo, a kind of spicy sauce.
"That's been one of the highest-rated things that we've done," he said. Santos conceded that it takes some
convincing to get diners to try seaweed. Once they try it, though, they find it has a nice pasta-like texture
and tastes like the ocean. "It's like an oyster, but without the salinity."
Smith said his goal is to make kelp the new kale. "Kale went from rabbit food to the [menus of the] best
restaurants in New York city. If in five years I could do that, that'll be a huge success — that's a heavy
lift."
If seaweed ends up a short-lived fad of the capricious foodie culture, it would hardly be the first setback
that Smith has weathered.
"It might be a one-hit wonder, but that's another reason to diversify," he said. "Kelp is just a piece of the
20 acres, so really what can you grow, and how many things can you grow, I think that's where the real
possibilities are."
Mussels and scallops are kept in lantern nets that hang from the same ropes where the seaweed grows.
Below that are cages that hold oysters and some clams. He calls it "3-D farming." To develop it, Smith
has been working with Yarish.
"You're using the entire water column, you're not just using the surface and you're not just using the
bottom," said Yarish, nicknamed "Capt. Seaweed."
"You're treating it as an entire ecosystem — nutrients extend from bottom to the top," he said.
Yarish's program supplied Smith with seaweed seed, taken from the ocean as part of his research. As
Yarish said, "There's no Burpee Seed catalog of seaweed seed."
http://www.westchestermagazine.com/Westchester-Magazine/January-2013/The-Sound-ScrubberGeorge-Kraemer-PhD/
The Sound Scrubber: George Kraemer, PhD
DECEMBER 21, 2012
The Sound Scrubber
George Kraemer, PhD
Professor of Environmental Studies and Biology, Purchase College
It would be hard for a single number to describe the Long Island Sound. It’s home to more than 120
species of finfish, bordered by 600 miles of shorefront, the source of a 10-million-inhabitant-supporting
watershed, responsible for up to $8.9 billion in value to nearby economies (like our own) every year, and
filled with 18 trillion gallons of water. The issue is that much of that treasured resource is at risk for
becoming an aqua dead zone because of pollution. Yet George Kraemer, PhD, a professor of
Environmental Studies and Biology at Purchase College, is working on a program that has shown
promising results in saving us from that bleak scenario—and making a dent in our fuel concerns at the
same time.
“All these environmental problems are not easy fixes, because they’re so complex,” says Kraemer, 54, of
Greenburgh. “Nature has devised, through eons, systems that function well in a certain way with a certain
balance. Anytime this is thrown off-kilter, the outcomes are at the same time unexpected and often
negative.”
To reinvigorate the Sound, Kraemer tries to restore the balance that’s lost when “over-fertilization” by
nitrogen—mostly from sewage treatment and cars’ internal-combustion engines—causes imbalances in
species that eventually rob the ecosystem of oxygen. By selectively placing seaweed and mussels that will
soak up the excess nitrogen (as well as other pollutants) and then removing the whole setup, Kraemer and
his partners have developed a system that appears at once sustainable and fast. The seaweed, for instance,
doubles in biomass in as few as five days and has the potential to remove thousands of tons of the
nitrogen every month, depending on the type and amount of seaweed present. The National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency have been impressed enough to help fund
the work.
Kraemer points out that removing that level of pollution isn’t just about the species balance in the water.
“This natural system provides services for us for free—fish, shellfish, tourism. It’s a regional economic
driver,” he says. “So there’s more than one reason to protect the quality of local systems in any way we
can.” And still another reason to clean it up—and clean it up with help from Kraemer: The project is
finding ways to convert the used seaweed into biofuel and feed for farms.
Charles Yarish, PhD, a professor in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University
of Connecticut who oversees the research in the Sound and has been working with Kraemer since 1999, is
glad Kraemer signed on. Yarish says Kraemer is “a very energetic person and a darned good scientist.
He’s a great marine ecologist, a very good biostatistician, very good in writing, aquaculture, et cetera.”
For his part, Kraemer is hoping he can change how we think about our roles as humans in the
environment. “For a long time, we humans have viewed ourselves as sort of separate from other plants
and animals, like we’re not bound by the same rules. But we need to remember that we are.”
http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013310160069&nclick_check=1
Foliage benefits Long Island Sound, adds to trendy menus
Written by KEN VALENTI
If you’re munching on a trendy salad that has a certain marine quality to it, or if your cocktail has a twist
of kelp, your dining excursion may help to save Long Island Sound.
Seaweed has become the latest tool in the long battle to breathe new life into the estuary, just as it is
becoming more popular on dinner plates at upscale restaurants.
At three spots in the central and western Sound, scientists from the University of Connecticut and an
aquatic farmer, working with other schools, have been testing the idea by growing sweet kelp in the
winter and gracilaria, another type of seaweed, in the summer.
As the marine foliage sprouts rapidly along lines 50 or 100 meters long, it uses up nitrogen, a nutrient so
overabundant in the Sound that it topples the balance of life, creating oxygen-depleted dead zones in
warm weather where fish and other creatures struggle to survive.
“Every line you pull out that grows, you’re removing nutrients,” said Charles Yarish, professor of
ecology, evolutionary biology and marine sciences at the University of Connecticut.
Two years ago, he and others from the University of Connecticut, Purchase College and other entities
started the program, stringing lines at the mouth of the Bronx River and off Fairfield, Conn. They started
with funding from groups including Connecticut Sea Grant and the Long Island Sound Study, a
partnership of federal, state and local governments as well as private entities.
A year ago, aquafarmer Bren Smith of Branford, Conn., got in on the project, after his shellfish beds
among the Thimble Islands had been battered by major storms.
“I got wiped out by Irene and Sandy,” he said. “I lost 80 percent of my crop two years in a row. ... I came
to the conclusion that I had to adapt.”
Last year, he strung two 50-meter lines studded with sea kelp over the beds in December. Five months
later, he had two tons of seaweed.
Unlike the other sites, Smith’s had approvals for the seaweed grown there to be sold as food. So he sold
half and gave half away to cultivate a market. It was gone in six weeks to chefs and others who would
toss it into salads or slice into “noodles.” One entrepreneur was experimenting with kelp in mixed drinks,
Smith said.
The foliage that is not eaten by humans can be used as fertilizer or biofuel. Extracts are used as
emulsifiers in other foods or in cosmetics.
Yarish offered a workshop on the growing process and its benefits last week in Mamaroneck.
While the seaweed improves the health of the water, it can do the same for diners. It is loaded with
nutrients such as iron, calcium and iodine, said Paul Dobbins, president of Ocean Approved, a Mainebased producer of kelp as food products.
And it’s finding its way onto more menus.
“The popularity of Japanese food has really propelled seafood into the forefront of dining,” said Louise
Kramer, spokeswoman for the Specialty Food Association. “People are getting more experimental with
it.”
“There’s a lot of interest in sustainability and the environment,” Kramer said. “People want to be good.
There’s this great interest in where your food comes from and locally sourced products.”
Nisa Lee, a Westchester-based caterer, uses Ocean Approved kelp many ways, sometimes simply tossed
in a salad with olive oil and lemon.
“It has great texture,” she said. “It is incredibly refreshing.”
No one has the illusion that seaweed farmers alone soon will restore the balance of nitrogen just by
growing their crops. The researchers estimate that a 2.5-acre farm of marine foliage could remove 600
pounds of nitrogen over the five-month winter growing period. During the summer, the amounts vary.
The same 2.5 acres, strung with gracilaria, could remove 73 pounds of nitrogen in July and about 20
pounds in October, they estimate.
Excess nitrogen that enters the Sound in sewage, animal waste and from other sources is measured not in
hundreds of pounds, but in thousands of tons. Sources in Connecticut alone added 57,000 tons of nitrogen
to the Sound in 2005, the latest year cited in a 2012 annual report from the Long Island Sound Study.
But the foliage is one of many tools in the effort to boost the Sound’s health. And it’s a cinch to grow,
with seedlings cultivated by Yarish and assistant research professor Jang Kim in a UConn lab in
Stamford. It’s as easy as stringing the lines in the Sound’s waters and letting them dangle.
“It takes zero inputs,” Smith said. “There’s no fresh water, no fertilizer, no land use.” Also, it goes in after
hurricane season, in December, and its rapid growth reduces the risk of trouble with harsh weather, he
said.
“(In five months) they go from practically invisible or a fuzz to about 10 feet,” said George Kraemer,
professor of environmental studies at Purchase College, SUNY, who was involved in the project. “And
these lines get so heavy, it takes a couple to three people to pull the line out of the water.”
Mark Tedesco, director of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Long Island Sound office, said the
seaweed brings other benefits, such as providing shelter for marine creatures.
“There’s no negative environmental impact from having these plants growing,” said Tedesco, whose
office heads the Long Island Sound Study. The partnership gave about $250,000 in grants to start the
program.
The gracilaria grows quickly, too, Yarish said.
“I put out a fistful, about 20 grams, and then we come back in two weeks, it’s the size of a soccer ball and
we give it a haircut,” he said.
The effort is expanding. Smith will string seven lines in December.
Mamaroneck Supervisor Nancy Seligson, an advocate of Long Island Sound improvement, sees promise
in its growth.
“They’re on a small scale right now,” she said. “But the hope is that experiments like this could be
expanded to a very large scale that can make a real difference.”
http://www.27east.com/news/article.cfm/Sag-Harbor/42759/Seaweed-Could-Be-The-NextSouth-Fork-Crop
Seaweed Could Be The Next South Fork Crop
Publication: The Southampton Press
By Virginia Garrison
Dec 19, 2013
They call kelp “the virtuous vegetable” up in Maine. Seaweed is good for you, what with its potassium
and calcium and iodine and Omega-3.
Off the Connecticut shore of Long Island Sound, the Thimble Island Oyster Company now farms
seaweed, and kelp accompanies oysters, clams and mussels in community-supported fishery shares just
like the vegetables rewarding shareholders in CSAs. “Eating like a fish”—that is, eating seaweed—can
ease pressure on fish stocks, according to Thimble Island’s website, which also notes that Manhattan
restaurants are serving kelp linguine, kelp ice cream, even kelp cocktails, all using its harvest.
Not only is seaweed a sustainable food source, without the need for irrigation, land or pesticides, but it
can remove nutrients such as nitrogen that promote excessive algae growth, improving the health of water
bodies while removing carbon from the atmosphere.
Imagine South Fork farm stands and restaurants selling homegrown kelp harvested by local baymen, or
by oyster growers who want to make use of the water above their shellfish beds. Is the farming of sea
vegetables the next logical step beyond the cultivation of shellfish?
The answer depends on who’s giving it, considering a number of hurdles ranging from official
certification to protecting the environment to finding a spot where seaweed farming could turn a profit
without interfering with other activities.
“You’ve got some good opportunities there as long as the growers are able to get the proper permits from
the Department of Environmental Conservation and also the Army Corps of Engineers. ... You’ve got
some excellent areas,” said Charles Yarish at the University of Connecticut in Stamford, who mentioned
Montauk, the Peconic bays, Shelter Island and Long Island Sound as possibilities. A professor of ecology
and evolutionary biology and an expert in aquaculture-cultivated seaweed, Dr. Yarish helped get kelp
farms off the ground at both the Thimble Island Oyster Company and Ocean Approved in Portland,
Maine, a former mussel farm that last year harvested more than 100,000 pounds of three native seaweeds
germinated onshore and then set out on lines descending into the water.
“Once the kelp gets to about 1/2 to 2 millimeters long, then we move it into the open ocean,” explained
Paul Dobbins, an owner of Ocean Approved. In 90 to 110 days the seaweed will grow to be anywhere
from 9 to 12 feet long, with a harvest of about 33,000 pounds per acre. Ocean Approved sells most of its
fresh-frozen product, which comes in cuts like “slaw,” “noodle” and “salad,” to restaurants and food
service organizations. The Maine company—whose nutritionist, Stefanie Sacks, lives in Montauk—says
its product is much more vibrant-looking and tasty than dried seaweed imported from Asia.
“Business is booming,” Mr. Dobbins said, adding that the company’s tillers of the ocean were “right in
the middle of our seeding season” for next spring’s harvest.
“The rest of the world has done it, and now the U.S. is starting to catch up ... globally, we are really
behind the curve,” Mr. Dobbins said. “I believe aquaculture is how we’re going to feed the world’s
population.”
Mr. Dobbins and Dr. Yarish led three workshops in New England on kelp farming this fall. Together,
they drew 154 participants, including Joe Tremblay, who’s been involved in raising oysters in Sag Harbor
and nearby through an “oyster club” of private individuals, the Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Southold
Project on Aquaculture Training (SPAT) program and the Southampton Town Trustees.
“There was a lot of interest from people on Long Island,” said Mr. Tremblay, who attended a workshop at
Roger Williams College in Rhode Island. “There’s a lot of potential.”
“I’m interested in growing seaweed because of so many of the problems we’re facing in our local
estuaries,” he said, adding that he would like to find varieties that can be grown in smaller water bodies
like Sag Harbor Cove where “you can make a difference” by using them to pull nitrogen out. Kelp
requires colder water like that off Montauk, he said, also noting that a current impediment to farming sea
vegetables locally is the lack of a mechanism for securing approvals from the DEC.
“The product is clean and it’s loaded with nutrients,” Mr. Tremblay said. “So the health food market for it
is strong ... a combination of Asian and health food markets.” One might combine farming shellfish or
even harvesting sea salt with farming seaweed, he said. “I can definitely see someone selling this at
farmers markets and everyone eating it right up.”
An owner of Bay Burger in Sag Harbor, Mr. Tremblay said he wasn’t sure that raising seaweed is “what I
want to do with my life,” but pointed out that he already has an ice cream business—Joe and Liza’s Ice
Cream—“so I’m already in the frozen food market.” If he doesn’t get involved, he said, he hopes that
someone else will.
“Somebody’s going to do it, no doubt about it,” said Gregg Rivara, an aquaculture specialist with Cornell
Cooperative Extension’s marine program. Mr. Rivara ticked off several hurdles to growing seaweed
locally, however. Kelp grows relatively high in the water column because it needs sunlight, which means
boats could run afoul of the lines on which the plants are cultivated, There would also need to be a way to
guarantee that the water is pure enough to make the seaweed safe to eat, perhaps by making sure it comes
from places already certified for shellfish. Also, seaweed growers would need permission to use bodies of
water, which generally are owned by the public: shellfish farmers who have leases for bottomland
couldn’t just tack seaweed-growing onto their approval, Mr. Rivara said: “It’s like saying I’m leasing the
house from this guy and I want to start a tire store.”
On the other hand, he said the idea held small-scale promise for perhaps “10 percent of the existing 40 or
50 people involved in shellfish aquaculture” on the East End, potentially providing an opportunity to
diversify for fishermen who already have boats and gear and others simply thinking about a startup
business.
“I’m all for what you call water-dependent uses of the shoreline,” said Mr. Rivara, who used to gather
seaweed in Montauk and hang it on his clothesline before mixing it into soups and other dishes. He
pointed out, too, that seaweed has also been seen as a potential source of fuel and for pharmaceutical use
for years.
There’s a long history to eating sea vegetables, but Americans really only started giving them a sniff in
recent years, Mr. Rivara said. “You can get seaweed salad at most restaurants now. ... I think it’s more of
a niche market—there’s a cachet to it—just like local wine and beer,” he said. “I could see farmers
carrying it at farm stands.”
Larry Liddle, a professor emeritus of marine science at Stony Brook Southampton, who has long studied
seaweed, said the use of sea plants as “scrubbers” is already in place both in the Harlem River—in that
case with the DEC’s permission to proceed experimentally—and in China, where Dr. Liddle has been
working over the last three years with people who grow a red alga called gracilaria to remove nutrients
and for use as food and as a gelling agent. He stressed that seaweed must be harvested if it is to remove
nitrates; otherwise they will simply return to the water when the plants break down.
The kelp seen at Montauk Point is what the Japanese call kombu, an edible plant, although it’s at the
southernmost point of its range and thus not as plentiful as it is to the north.
“I think the issue, the overall issue, is the problem of introducing any nonnative species to any area,” Dr.
Liddle said of farming seaweed locally. “It might take over or something like that.”
Diane McNally, clerk of the East Hampton Town Trustees, expressed a similar concern, adding that the
prospect of using Trustee-owned waters had not so far been raised. At one point they discussed “seeding”
a community shellfish garden, she said, adding that growing seaweed might somehow be worked into that
program if it comes to pass. The private use of a public resource like Trustee waters has traditionally been
tricky, she said, adding that the county has been leasing bottomland in Gardiners Bay and wondering
whether growing seaweed might “fit in more easily ... in a scenario like that.”
Southampton Town Trustee Bill Pell, who works out of Shinnecock Bay, said he had explored the idea of
farming seaweed years ago after seeing it done on the West Coast. “You need deeper water, colder
water,” he said. “Our bays are warmer.”
Another Southampton Trustee, Ed Warner, said he sees very little kelp where he fishes, including in
western Peconic Bay, essentially from Gardiners Island west to Flanders. “I do see codium, basically the
spaghetti grass,” he said, adding that the native plants are likely to involve shellfish beds that had best not
be disturbed.
But Dr. Yarish described the concept as “3D farming” where both the water column—with, say, oysters
on the bottom and seaweed above—and the seasons can be exploited with greater efficiency. “Here’s
another crop for the shellfish farmer,” he said. “And you’re doing valuable ecosystem services.”
He said a winter crop of sugar kelp would work particularly well in this area, growing from December
through late April or early May, when recreational boats are out of the water and biological activity has
slowed down. Fishermen or shellfish growers who own boats could grow kelp during their slow period,
Dr. Yarish said, with the added advantage that the nutrients the seaweed removes are at their highest
levels in January and February.
“So we’re doing very important ecosystem services, and just by growing a commodity that has potential
as a sea vegetable we’re providing livelihoods,” Dr. Yarish said. “It’s good for the environment and it’s
good for business, you’re giving people a good healthy commodity—and if you have a gluten allergy you
can make a pasta that’s gluten-free.”
http://wildfoodgirl.com/2014/wild-edible-notebook-march-2014-release/
Wild Edible Notebook—March 2014 Release!
March 2nd, 2014
Wild sea vegetables are hard to come by here in the Colorado high country, so for the March 2014 issue
of the Wild Edible Notebook I decided to travel through space and time to coastal Connecticut via several
jars of seaweed—Irish moss (Chondrus crispus), sea lettuce (Ulva sp.) and sugar kelp (Saccharina
latissima)—that I collected last summer and dried in my parents’ house.
While researching the story I was fortunate to tap into the expertise of Dr. Charles Yarish, professor of
ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut, who promotes the cultivation of sea
vegetables as a means to clean coastal waters while also providing good food for the dinner plate. This
edition also includes a lighthearted jaunt into wild jellies and things to make with them besides toast. The
issue concludes with a handful of recipes using wild foraged seaweeds, including one by West Coast
seaweed purveyor Louise Gaudet, as well as a recipe for serviceberry jelly pork glaze by the awesome
cook that is my dad.
The Wild Edible Notebook is an ongoing project, started in 2011. It is now available for iPad and iPhone
in the Apple Newsstand, or in various PDF formats including screen-reading and 8.5×14” print-and-fold
versions at www.wildfoodgirl.com/wild-edible-notebook for $1.99/month. Your support makes the
continued development of this publication possible, both on the content and technical sides. Big, supersqueezy, wild hugs to those who have already purchased a subscription in support of this effort.
To download a free issue of the Wild Edible Notebook and stay abreast of future developments, join the
email list by filling out your info at the very bottom of the page.
http://riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com/2014/07/56134/kelp-a-slippery-seaweed-could-bemajor-moneymaker/
http://suffolktimes.timesreview.com/2014/07/50108/kelp-a-slippery-seaweed-could-be-majormoneymaker/
Kelp, a slippery seaweed, could be major moneymaker
by Carrie Miller
07/11/2014
It’s a delicacy Asian cultures have enjoyed for centuries but is more commonly thought of as the slippery
— and sometimes slimy — brown stuff that grows naturally in area waters and then washes up on
beaches.
And one day, it could be a major moneymaker for the North Fork.
Though regional cash crops are typically cultivated on land, aquaculturists are pushing state and county
lawmakers to permit the growing and selling of sugar kelp, or seaweed. They say the salty yet sweet leafy
sea vegetable could benefit the economy, the environment, and even put baymen back to work at a time
when making a living on the water is becoming increasingly difficult.
Researchers have suggested that farming kelp in Long Island Sound waters has the potential to produce
annual sales of $47 million, according to County Executive Steve Bellone’s office. But in order for sugar
kelp to be farmed in Peconic Bay and Sound waters — where many of the state’s aquaculture farms are
located — state and county lawmakers need to make regulatory changes to allow it.
Currently, state law allows only for shellfish cultivation in these areas.
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County is exploring the idea of growing the kelp industry
locally and hopes to partner with researchers from the University of Connecticut on a study in Orient
Harbor — if it can find the funds to do so.
Uncharted waters
“It’s exciting,” Southold aquaculturist Karen Rivara said of the industry’s potential while giving Mr.
Bellone a tour of the Peconic Land Trust’s Shellfisher Preserve on Southold Bay last month. Ms. Rivara,
who owns Aeros Cultured Oyster Company, is also president of the Long Island Farm Bureau. She is the
organization’s first aquaculturist to hold that title. “I think it’s hard to find a reason not to do it.”
Area waters already ideal for growing shellfish are also perfect for kelp cultivation, she said, and would
allow aquatic farmers another crop to harvest when the shellfish industry slows down, since kelp grows in
the winter. The two can be grown in the same underwater space.
Ms. Rivara said the ultimate benefit of kelp is that it thrives on nitrogen, sucking up the very culprit
wreaking havoc on the same waters, feeding harmful algal blooms and depriving waters of oxygen.
Growing shellfish and kelp side by side, she explained, would help protect her shellfish from being
polluted by harmful algal blooms — one particular variety can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning in
humans — and allow her to make a few bucks in the process.
Environmental benefits to be had
“The darker the color, the more nitrogen [the kelp] is soaking up,” said Bren Smith, a Connecticut kelp
farmer who grows his product in Long Island Sound waters and is banking on the sugar kelp industry to
take off. A vocal advocate of kelp’s growth potential, Mr. Smith owns Thimble Island Oysters and — as
Ms. Rivara hopes to do — grows his shellfish and kelp within a single ecosystem.
And it just so happens that the darker the kelp’s color, the richer and sweeter its flavor, said University of
Connecticut professor Charlie Yarish, who has been studying seaweed cultivation for several decades.
“It is really a way of restoring the environment while making a product we can eat,” he said.
Sugar kelp is produced when reproductive cells, known as spores, are collected from kelp already
occurring naturally in local waters, Mr. Yarish explained.
The cells are retrieved from the leafy greens in a lab and settled on a string where they continue to
reproduce, essentially growing off the string. The string is then wrapped around a rope and submerged
horizontally across bay waters, where the kelp continues to grow by feeding on nitrogen already abundant
in Peconic Bay and Sound waters.
“The kelp starts to grow vertically, and it grows very quickly, as soon as the water drops below 50
degrees,” said Mr. Smith, who uses this exact process.
In December, January and February, kelp grows rapidly, sucking up nitrogen before phytoplankton —
which multiply in warmer waters, eventually causing algal blooms — can begin feeding on it, Mr. Yarish
said.
He said he developed the cultivation process with financial support from the Connecticut Sea Grant
College Program and has passed his knowledge on to growers like Mr. Smith.
He hopes to one day mentor New York cultivators as well.
A growing market
According to a 2010 United Nations State of the World Fisheries and Aquaculture report, “countries in
East and Southeast Asia dominate seaweed culture production (99.8 percent by quantity and 99.5 percent
by value, according to 2008 data).”
China, Indonesia and the Philippines lead the way, accounting for over 85 percent of kelp production.
The U.S., however, has lagged behind, as only a handful of growers currently cultivate it nationwide and
are located mostly in New England. As a result, it’s had to import nearly all of its kelp meant for human
consumption.
“I know that seaweed farming in Asian countries has been prolific,” said Assemblyman Anthony
Palumbo (R-New Suffolk), whose district spans the North Fork. “To kind of expand on that here, I think,
is a great idea.”
Demand for a domestically grown product safe from contaminants is growing, Mr. Smith said. He added
that his company’s 18-ton-a-year kelp yield — for which he earns about 35 cents per pound, when wet —
is nowhere near filling increasing domestic demand.
Companies including Whole Foods Market are working to incorporate kelp into other products, as a way
of expanding the market, Mr. Yarish said. Because kelp has a very short shelf life when gathered fresh
from the sea, freezing or incorporating it into other products is a way of preserving it.
The question is, “How do we take this weird thing and get it on the kitchen table?” Mr. Smith said. “How
can we make kelp the new kale, which is now on every restaurant menu?”
Sugar kelp is rich in calcium, folic acid and vitamins A, B, D, E and K, according to multiple research
studies. As a result, it’s been touted by many health food outlets as the next “superfood.”
Because of this, it has potential not only for the dinner table but also in pharmaceutical and cosmetic
markets.
It’s also high in iodine, which is commonly used in supplements given to people with thyroid problems,
according to New York University hospital researchers.
Kelp extract is also added to skin care products, helping to give the appearance of firmer skin.
And because it sucks up all that nitrogen, it can also be used as a natural fertilizer, Mr. Yarish said.
Mr. Smith said he hopes land farmers will consider using the seaweed as fertilizer and stop using
synthetic forms of nitrogen on land, which inevitably makes its way into area waters.
“We’re taking land- and sea-based farming and trying to close the nitrogen loop,” he said.
What’s being done now
Cultivating kelp in town or privately owned waters and creeks wouldn’t require a change in law, said
Chris Pickerell, director of Cornell’s marine program. However, state-owned lands — where many local
aquaculture farms exist — would need to amend current legislation to allow for seaweed cultivation.
Ms. Rivara is one of more than 40 growers taking advantage of state-owned land through Suffolk
County’s Shellfish Aquaculture Lease Program, which gives area growers access to underwater lands for
farming in the Peconic Bay.
Many other shellfish farmers operate on state-owned lands leased in the Long Island Sound, she said.
Currently, she said, there’s no way to apply for a permit for seaweed cultivation on state-controlled lands.
“We don’t have the legal mechanism to do it,” she said.
Mr. Pickerell said that “In the simplest sense, it is a matter of adding the words ‘seaweed cultivation’ into
the current law.”
He said he’s been working with County Legislator Al Krupski (D-Cutchogue) and state Assemblymen
Fred Thiele (I-Sag Harbor) to create legislation to change the law. Ms. Rivara has spoken with Mr.
Bellone in hopes of initiating the change.
Senator Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) said a kelp industry would “both lead to job creation and
stimulate our economy, while cleaning our waters.”
In a letter supporting Cornell’s pilot cultivation study, Mr. Bellone called the industry’s potential “an
extremely interesting, and potentially lucrative, economic development opportunity.” He added that the
program will help “develop policies that can help grow and support the industry.”
Cornell has applied for grant funding from both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s Cleaner, Greener Communities
grant program. It hopes to raise enough money to plan, design, construct and acquire the equipment
necessary for a start-up kelp farm.
Mr. Palumbo said, “I would like to see the results of the program so we can see how to manage it [the
industry] properly, to find that happy medium so that we can both reduce nitrogen and produce an
additional product that can be sold,” adding that the right environmental groups are involved in the
project.
From a community standpoint, Mr. LaValle said, the project “will help ensure the maritime industry of
aquaculture remains viable, and create new opportunities for the next generation to work on the water.”
He said he has written a letter to the state, which runs NYSERDA, in hopes of receiving project funding
from them.
“This is a win-win for everything,” Mr. Pickerell said. “We need to get all of our ducks in a row in terms
of the regulatory approvals.”
http://nationswell.com/sea-weed-save-mankind/
You helped Thimble Island Oysters take one step closer to its goal. Take Action
Appears in Preserving the Environment
by Charlotte Parker on December 23, 2013
Kelp: The Sea Weed That Could Save Mankind
Bren Smith is no ordinary waterman. He’s out to revolutionize fishing, fight
climate change, create jobs—and get you to eat seaweed.
Bren Smith blends into the New England seascape, a waterman decked out in waders tooling around on
his boat in the Long Island Sound. On this hazy July morning, he’s motored out aboard the Mookie III
from a Stony Creek, Conn., dock to check on his oyster beds scattered between the Thimble Islands.
Another boat putters by, and Smith raises his arm to point, his hands cloaked in rubber gloves to protect
against the barnacles. “That guy,” Smith says, “is only catching about five pounds of lobsters a day. He
doesn’t even pay for half his fuel with that.” And with this observation, Smith shatters the illusion that
he’s just another fisherman chasing his catch.
Smith, in fact, is a genuine revolutionary, a man who sees powerful currents of change in the choppy
waters off the Atlantic seaboard. And his neighbor, chugging past with his nearly empty hold, is proof
that the end of a way of life is looming—and the beginning of a new one is at hand.
Climate change has affected the fishing beds. Ocean acidification, a product of rising atmospheric CO2
levels, kills off coral reefs, causes toxic algae blooms and dissolves the shells of oysters and other
mollusks, researchers say.
And then there’s what Smith calls the “rape and pillage” of the world’s oceans—the overfishing that has
dried up once-fertile sources of food, and sent unemployment in once-thriving seaside communities
through the roof. Smith assigns himself a share of the blame. He fished for McDonald’s in the Bering Sea
some years back, and pushed the cod stocks to the brink. But grousing about it, and hoping government
regulation will solve the problem, won’t do the trick. What fishermen catch needs to be rethought. What
fishermen should be doing, in Smith’s view, is harvesting kelp.
Yes, you read that right: the slimy brown sea vegetation that has grossed out generations of New England
beachgoers. You might think of it as an annoyance of no particular significance to mankind. Smith sees it
as a jobs program, an amazing source of nutrition, a strategic adaptation to the havoc being wrought by
global warming—and, quite possibly, the next big thing in trendy New York City restaurants.
He calls it his “path of ecological redemption,” and he’s calling on fishermen, businessmen and
consumers to follow it with him.
A short, bald man blessed with the ability to sound businesslike and salty at the same time, Smith dropped
out of high school at age 14 to become a fisherman, intending to spend his life at sea (even though, as a
product of Newfoundland’s icy waters, he never learned to swim). He stuck with it, while finding time to
graduate from the University of Vermont and take a law degree from Cornell. In 2002, he leased a plot of
shellfish ground, and began growing oysters, mussels, scallops and clams. He started a communitysupported fishery program, the first of its kind in the Northeast, supplying subscribers with a package of
sustainably grown shellfish once a month during the summer months. Business was rolling along—until
back-to-back hurricanes in 2011 and 2012 stuck him with cages full of oysters suffocated by mud. He
began looking into species that could both renew their ecosystem and better resist storm surges.
His search was fueled by changes in the waters beneath his boat. The combination of overharvesting and
ocean acidification had begun taking a dramatic toll. “There are thousands of boats beached, houses
foreclosed, up and down the East Coast, in the gulf, everywhere,” Smith says. “The idea that climate
change is an environmental issue has sort of been misbranded. It’s an economic issue.”
Today, he runs what he calls a 3-D sea farm, covering some 20 acres. He harvests seaweed, mussels and
scallops near the ocean surface, with oysters and clams in cages further below. He speaks of renewing,
rather than depleting, the ecosystem on his watch. But his eyes really light up when he starts talking about
kelp. It’s a food source with “more iron than red meat, more calcium than milk and more protein than
soybeans,” he intones, on a video accompanying a Kickstarter campaign to raise money in support of his
efforts. It’s fuel, for machines—with the potential to one day relieve America’s dependence on oil. And
it’s a source of jobs, for a region that desperately needs them. “It’s an industry that doesn’t exist, an
industry we can scale up,” Smith tells me.
He’s making headway with his sales pitch. This year alone, he’s been featured in The New Yorker,
NPR, The Wall Street Journal, McSweeney’s Lucky Peach, and National Geographic. He’s visited with
venture capital investors. He’s teamed up with the Yale Farm, which has helped him spread the word—
extending his reach into media and food circles. And lately, he’s been making the 90-mile drive from his
patch of ocean to New York City, the bed of his orange pickup packed with kelp in solar-powered
coolers, delivering it to a handful of forward-thinking chefs to play around with in their kitchens.
David Santos is a believer. A veteran of the foodie landmark Per Se on Manhattan’s Upper West Side,
Santos took to Kickstarter himself to launch his own place, Louro, in the West Village. He’s lined the
walls with glass jars of creative combinations of ingredients he steeps for days on end, giving the place
the aura of a genial mad scientist’s lab. Sure, seaweed has long been part of a Japanese diet. But
Americans need to be led a little. So Santos is sneaking dishes onto VIP and tasting menus—pureeing
ribbons of kelp into house-made butter, frying them into tempura, sprinkling them into lemon soup and
sautéeing them into a tomato sauce and crab mixture to make an “al diavolo” dish. Not your standard
menu, but it’s delicious, at least in Santos’s hands. “Kelp is a better product than kale,” he says. “It’s
cheaper, it tastes better, there are more nutrients, and more stuff you can do with it.”
The trick, Santos says, is getting people to try it—maybe even before you fully acquaint them with what it
is they’re putting in their mouths. “It’s seaweed. It’s its own worst enemy in a way. We have to get people
to understand this is not just stuff that was laying around—this is stuff that was grown with care, treated
properly and produced appropriately,” he says.
The toughest sell may be among Smith’s fellow watermen. Persuading them to switch from cod to “sea
vegetables” could be tricky, Smith knows. “The kelp is more like farming arugula than chasing things,”
he says. “And people think that’s crazy: growing sea vegetables? Fishermen don’t grow veggies! It seems
kind of wimpy.”
“Mother Nature created these technologies hundreds of millions of years ago, and they actually
mitigate the harm we do to the sea. Our job now is to grow them.”
Bren Smith
The fishermen may take some persuading. But Smith has scientists on his side.
Dr. Charles Yarish, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut at
Stamford, has been researching the ecosystem benefits of kelp for 35 years. In bubbling, white
fluorescent-lit tanks in his Stamford lab, two varieties of North Atlantic seaweed—sugar kelp or
Saccharina latissima—grow from seed to thread on giant plastic beads. His team uses a system of
anchored longlines strung with these beads and planted at three open-water farms—at the mouth of the
Bronx River, off the coast of Fairfield, Conn., and on Smith’s Thimble Island farm—to grow plants to
maturity and test their potential to clean coastal waters.
Sugar kelp, like oysters, soak up nitrogen, carbon and other excess nutrients through a process called
nutrient bioextraction. Using Yarish’s technology and funded by a series of federal grants, Smith and
Yarish have been testing a 3-D sea farm model, using the entire water column to produce food for human
consumption, rebuild marine ecosystems and clean, nutrient-heavy waters.
A 20-acre oyster farm could compensate for the aquatic nitrogen pollution caused by 350 shoreline
residents, and a 20-acre farm of kelp could remove 134 tons of the carbon that causes ocean acidification.
Those same 20 acres could also grow 24 tons of kelp in five months. “Mother Nature created these
technologies hundreds of millions of years ago, and they actually mitigate the harm we do to the sea,”
Smith says. “Our job now is to grow them.”
Jeremy Oldfield, field academic coordinator at the Yale Farm, a sustainable food project affiliated with
the New Haven, Conn., university, worked with Smith this summer on developing a kelp-based fertilizer
for his tomato crop. Oldfield calls kelp “a preloaded multivitamin for farm soil.” Students at the
University of Connecticut School of Business are developing a first-round fuel product, based on a U.S.
Department of Energy study that found kelp a rich source of sugar for biofuel.
Smith and Yarish have been working with lawmakers and regulators to suss out how to make the farming
process easier. Yarish, his U Conn team, and Maine-based Oceans Approved, LLC, have recently started
a training program for new kelp farmers in Maine, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
In exploring seaweed’s potential, Smith shows an almost missionary zeal. “I’m just thinking about how
Bren communicates,” says Oldfield. “He has a great sense of ‘food justice.’…It’s sort of like a
manifesto.”
And it’s catching on—in this country and beyond. The Kickstarter campaign Smith launched this summer
exceeded expectations. He had hoped to raise enough money to cover the cost of hurricane-resistant
anchors, marker buoys, lines, installation and marine licensing fees for seven new longlines wrapped in
kelp and mussel seeds. By the time the campaign closed in late July, he’d received donations from 734
people, and raised more than $37,000. By the end of August, all the new longlines had been installed on
Smith’s Thimble Island farm.
Cash arrived from all over the world: Myanmar, Ghana, Vietnam and Brazil. Donors wondered if kelp
could be used as animal feed, whether his 3-D farm model could work for other species of sea vegetables.
“I don’t want to think too big and I’m not the one to do this, but I really think it could be replicated
globally if you did an ecosystem analysis based on what could be restorative in each place,” Smith says.
In Micronesia, for example, it could be conch, or sponges. “The question is,” he asks, “are we going to be
able to model this where we scale it up sustainably, locally, where people own their own farms?”
Closer to home, there are now four new sea farmers awaiting permits in the Long Island Sound. The
Bridgeport Regional Vocational Aquaculture School, a high school in Bridgeport, Conn., focusing on
marine science, has made progress in procuring a kelp noodle-processing machine. Smith’s fisherman’s
co-op has voted to install a kelp seed hatchery, which he hopes will become the first in a series of
incubators for investigating value-added products such as fertilizer, cosmetics and biofuel.
In September, on the heels of being named to a list of Social Capital Markets’ global entrepreneurs for
2013, Smith traveled to San Francisco to give a talk on restorative species to a roomful of venture
capitalists. At the end of October, he brought down the house at the annual TEDx Bermuda conference,
where he discussed how his methods could be exported to Caribbean waters.
And there may be even bigger breakthroughs ahead. Impressed by a sampling of kelp lemon soup, kelp
butter and kelp fettuccine with shrimp cooked up by chef Santos, Whole Foods is now exploring ways to
get Thimble Island’s products on their shelves by next spring. And sometime next year, if all goes
according to plan, attendees at the closing dinner for the International Oceans Conference will dine on
kelp—served on White House platters.
Smith clearly enjoys the success, but remains anxious about what comes next—like a parent wary of
letting his kid wander too far out of reach.
“My job is to advocate now, and then hopefully there will be hundreds of me, out trying it, perfecting it,
innovating, and then I can go back to farming by myself. If I’m the only one talking about this in 10 years
I’m going to have failed,” Smith says.
Let’s fix this country together.
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/food-matters/2014/07/11/move-over-kale-the-new-supervegetable-comes-from-the-sea-video/
Move Over, Kale, The New Super Vegetable Comes From The Sea.
By Patrick Mustain
July 11, 2014
Eat Kelp. It’s chock-full of nutrients, it mitigates climate change by sequestering carbon, improves oceans
by soaking up excess nitrogen and phosphorus, and has potential as a valuable fertilizer and biofuel.
It’s also delicious.
Bren Smith, owner of Connecticut-based Thimble Island Oyster Company, and director of the
organization Greenwave started growing kelp and shellfish as a reaction to several crises he faced in his
own life: overfishing, climate change, and rampant unemployment in the fishing industry. He was
working on the Bering Sea when the cod stocks crashed, and he lost oyster crops to both ocean
acidification and two hurricanes.
Based in part on the research of Dr. Charles Yarish at the University of Connecticut, Smith’s 3-D ocean
farming model uses the entire ocean column to grow as many different foods as possible in as small an
area as possible. “I’m growing more food in 20 acres of ocean now than I was in 100 acres a few years
ago,” he said. Oyster cages mark the sea floor, and curtains of kelp sprout along lines suspended by
surface buoys. Mesh containers housing scallops, clams and mussels hang among the long kelp leaves.
All of these species extract nutrients that leech into the water from land-based agricultural runoff (a
significant contributor to ocean dead zones), and that’s central to Smith’s approach. His work with
Greenwave is aimed at jump-starting a “blue-green” economy: identifying restorative species in any given
ecosystem that make the oceans healthier, that are nutritious, delicious, and economically viable. This is
an “elegant solution,” to some of the problems inherent in our current food system, Smith said.
Indeed, solutions are needed. Menus of Change (MOC), a meeting hosted by the Culinary Institute of
America and the Harvard School of Public Health, highlighted the need for reforming the way we
produce food. The MOC annual report pointed to a “perfect storm” of problems associated with industrial
food production, including challenges like depletion of arable land and fresh water, antibiotic resistance,
drought and other extreme weather associated with climate change, food insecurity, and obesity. A 2011
report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations identified the global food
production sector as one of the most significant drivers of climate change, consuming about 30 percent of
the world’s total energy consumption, and producing over one-fifth of its greenhouse gas emissions.
One session at MOC explored the potential of underutilized sea foods, and the promise of ocean-based
food production: it requires no fresh water, no land, and if done properly can actually mitigate climate
change, rather than contribute to it. But there are challenges: Panelist William Bradley described
unsuccessful attempts at serving sea vegetables to visitors to the New England Aquarium, where he acts
as Executive Chef. Another panelist, Chef Bun Lai has had some success in his restaurant Miya’s Sushi,
but he pointed out that many Americans are still simply unfamiliar or uncomfortable with the idea of
eating plants from the sea.
Bren Smith hopes this will change, and has been working with Chef David Santos at Louro Restaurant in
New York to develop innovative ways to prepare sea vegetables. The possibilities are endless. Kelp
leaves cut into strips make a perfect al dente noodle; pickled kelp stems are crisp, flavorful and
refreshing; kelp butter makes a unique but mild and rich spread; and a simple plate of kelp with a bit of
sweet sesame dressing gives any fancy kale salad a run for its money.
“It just make sense that this would be the next super-food,” said Santos, pointing to kelp’s healthfulness,
environmental impact, and diversity of uses and flavors.
There are many reasons that sea farming like Smith’s model may be a key component in the way we think
about the future of food production, as described in a recent report by Business Insider. Menus of Change
focused on solutions that support health, sustainability, and economics. But at the end of the day, these
solutions also have to be delicious. Smith’s 3-D farming fulfills all of those criteria, and shows that
similar approaches can be viable.
“I think what’s kind of exciting now, is because we’ve screwed things up so badly, because our backs are
against the wall, we have to innovate. I mean all over the world we need to come up with answers in order
to really change our relationships to the oceans, and reformat the economy, and that’s where a lot of my
hope comes from, and where a lot of the excitement comes from, because we have to do something, and I
think that’s going to cause a lot of creativity, resilience, and solutions,” he said.
But those solutions will only work when we as consumers are ready to step up and embrace new foods
and new ways of eating. So go get yourself some kelp, and bon appétite.
'I'm on the front lines of this crisis'
By John D. Sutter, CNN
September 22, 2014
On Long Island Sound (CNN) -- On Friday morning, I boarded a leaky oyster boat in Connecticut with
a captain who can't swim. Our destination: Manhattan, 84 miles down the coast. Mission: don't drown get
world leaders to act on climate change.
If anyone can accomplish that herculean task it should be Bren Smith, a 42-year-old oysterman off the
coast of Branford, Connecticut, who has become a sort of reluctant poster boy for doing something about
the crisis instead of just talking about it.
Bren's oyster beds were wiped out twice by hurricanes, once by Irene and then, a year later, by Sandy.
Warming waters and ocean acidification aren't helping his business model, either. But instead of giving
up, he's currently helping to pioneer new techniques for "ocean farming," growing, among other things,
kelp seaweed for use in pasta, martinis and biofuel.
That he can't swim hasn't stopped him from spending his life on the ocean, which he loves. ("The world
disappears; it doesn't exist when you're out here," he said, bouncing over 3- and 4-foot waves). And that
he, single-handedly, can't stop climate change didn't stop him from driving his boat down the coast to
attend the People's Climate March in New York on Sunday, which is being billed as the largest public
demonstration for climate action to date.
"This isn't a shtick. I actually believe in this," he said of the reason he's boating from Connecticut to New
York for the rally. "I love the ocean. I want to protect it."
Bren -- who described himself as being "on the front lines of the this crisis" -- will be one of the most
important people to attend Sunday's People's Climate March, which is expected to draw more than
100,000 protestors ahead of United Nations climate summit on Tuesday. He's essential to the international
climate conversation for two reasons. One, he's a witness to the reality of climate change today -- here
and now and in America. Too often we think of this as an Arctic-only problem, or a 100-years-in-the-
future problem. It's actually both urgent and local, as Bren and so many others can attest. And two:
Instead of just griping about the changes, he's actually doing something to help.
"This isn't a story of giving up," he said. "This is a story of hope."
Preach, brother.
We all have a lot to learn from Bren.
Opinion: Why climate change is an 'everybody issue' now
I was lucky enough to get to join him and his co-conspirator, Ron Gautreau, 52, on the 7½-hour journey
from the Thimble Island Oyster Co., near Branford, Connecticut, to Pier 59 in the Chelsea neighborhood
of Manhattan. We took Bren's 1983 workboat, which he calls "Mookie II," named for the Mets' legendary
Mookie Wilson. It chugged along, past the mansions of Greenwich, Connecticut, and the industrial decay
of Bridgeport, at a steady and slightly sea-sickening pace of about 17 mph.
He told me he took the boat instead of a car because traffic on Interstate 95 headed into New York is "f--ing hell" and because it's a fun bit of "political theater," inspired in part by 1970s protests in which
farmers drove their tractors across the country to Washington to demand better farm policy.
Between bouts of losing our footing and hollering over the wind, I got to learn some of Bren's
inspirational story. He grew up in in Petty Harbour, Newfoundland, a fishing village with 14 houses, as he
tells it, at "the edge of the world." His parents were from New York and Connecticut, but moved there
during the Vietnam War to dodge the draft. Their son took to the tiny village well, and started fishing at a
young age. Because it was so remote, he said, it was a place where people were "fascinated with
everything new."
It was a place of doers and makers, not complainers.
Bren's parents later moved him to the Boston area. People sat around too much, and he missed being out
on the ocean -- subject to its moods, humbled by its strength. So, at 14, he dropped out and went to work
as a commercial fishermen -- first in Massachusetts, then on the Bering Sea, where he saw 60-foot waves.
He dreamed about the work even when he wasn't doing it -- fell in love with a life lived out on the water.
It was so cold, he said, he never bothered to learn to swim. That's not uncommon among fishermen, he
told me. The prevailing view: Swimming prolongs drowning.
He's no stranger to ecological catastrophe. He witnessed the collapse of cod populations in the Atlantic,
which he said put many of his friends out of work. And then, when he'd established himself as an
oysterman on Long Island Sound, the hurricanes came. While scientists say it's impossible to attribute any
single storm to human-induced climate change, the warming atmosphere is expected to make hurricanes
larger and more dangerous. And just as Bren rebuilt from one storm, the second hit. He lost 80% of his
oysters and about half of his equipment, he told me.
"That just blanketed the farm and killed everything," he said.
Three days after Sandy hit, he told me, he got online and started researching alternative methods of oyster
cultivation -- and new crops to "farm" in the ocean. He came upon the work of Charles Yarish, a
professor at the University of Connecticut who studies seaweed cultivation. Yarish helped Bren devise a
system, Bren told me, to grow kelp underwater in vertical columns, attached to buoys on the surface.
He calls the result a "3-D ocean farm" -- almost invisible from the surface, but capable of producing 10
tons of seaweed per acre per year, along with oysters, clams and mussels, some of which attach
themselves to the towers of kelp. This vertical farming method might help prevent his entire operation
from being wiped out if another storm swept through, pushing mud across the floor of Long Island Sound.
As part of a nonprofit called GreenWave, he's trying to help spread this idea to other "ocean farmers" by
open-sourcing the model and teaching what he knows.
It's a success story, at least for now. Bren now says the hurricanes were among the best things to happen
to him -- because they forced him to innovate, to come up with a new, better way of doing things. The
kelp helps sink carbon from the atmosphere, and it processes nitrogen pollution from land-based farms. It
doesn't require fresh water, which gives it an environmental leg up on traditional crops. Plus, he expects it
to be more resilient in storms and warmer waters.
But the future is still uncertain.
"Unless the fossil fuels industry reduces their emissions, my farm won't last," he said.
He sees oysters and other ocean creatures as the canaries in the coal mine for climate change. Most of us
are so distant from the oceans we don't see the change.
When we were pulling into New York, I asked Bren what he would do if the United Nations and world
leaders continued to fail to act on curbing global carbon emissions. The meetings next week are largely
seen as gathering political will ahead of more-formal talks in 2015.
But what if no one cares?
"I don't know," he said, calmly. "I'll just keep doing my part."
It's just the kind of guy he is.
It would help if elected officials operated with similar resolve.
Conference Presentations
Kim J.K., G.P. Kraemer and C. Yarish. 2014. Kelp farming in Long Island Sound and the New York
Estuaries for Nutrient Bioextraction. Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting 2014 (May 18, 2014 - May
24, 2014).
Kim J.K., G.P. Kraemer and C. Yarish. 2014. Sugar Kelp Aquaculture: a Coastal Management Tool and
New Business Opportunities in Long Island Sound and New York Coastal Waters. Northeast Algal
Society Annual Meeting (April 25, 2014 - April 27, 2014) .
Koval D.J., J.K. Kim, G.P. Kraemer and Charles Yarish. 2014. GIS Modeling of Potential Aquaculture
Sites in Long Island Sound for Nutrient Bio-extraction. Northeast Algal Society Annual Meeting
(April 25, 2014 - April 27, 2014).
Yarish, C., J.K. Kim and G.P. Kraemer. 2014. Seaweed aquaculture for nutrient bioextraction and other
ecosystem services in Long Island Sound and other urbanized estuaries in northeast America. 2014
Ocean Sciences Meeting (February 23, 2014 - February 28, 2014).
Yarish, C, J.K. Kim and G.P. Kraemer. 2013. Seaweed Aquaculture for nutrient bioextraction in Long
Island Sound and the urbanized Bronx River estuaries. 10th International Phycological Congress. In
symposium, “Trends in Applied Phycology: Moving into the 21st Century.” Aug. 4-10, 2013
Kim, J., Kraemer, G. P., Yarish, C., "Sugar Kelp Aquaculture: a Coastal Management Tool and New
Business Opportunities in Long Island Sound and New York Coastal Waters", Northeast Algal
Society Annual Meeting (April 25, 2014 - April 27, 2014).
Kim, J., Yarish, C., Kraemer, G. P., Curtis, J. J., Green, A. Seaweed aquaculture: an opportunity for
nutrient bioextraction in Long Island Sound and adjacent urbanized estuaries. 39.
11th Long Island Sound Research Conference Proceedings, 2013, Published.
Kim J.K. and C. Yarish. 2012. Nutrient bioextraction by Saccharina latissima and Gracilaria tikvahiae in
Long Island Sound and the Bronx River Estuary. Annual Meeting of the Phycological Society of
America. Charleston, SC, June 20-23, 2013.
Kim J.K., G.P. Kraemer and C. Yarish. 2013. Nutrient Bioextraction: an Application of Extractive
Aquaculture in Urbanized Estuaries. 1st International Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture (IMTA)
Symposium, National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, Pusan, Republic of Korea,
Mar 28-29, 2013.
Yarish, C. and J.K. Kim. Exploring Multi-Trophic Linkages Through Aquaculture Systems: Using
Ecological Methods to Integrate the Cultivation of Seaweeds and Fish. 1st International Integrated
Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) Symposium, National Fisheries Research and Development
Institute, Pusan, Republic of Korea, March 28-29, 2013.
Yarish, C., Kim, J., Kraemer, G. P., Newell, C., "Seaweed aquaculture for nutrient bioextraction in Long
Island Sound and other USA urbanized estuaries", Aquaculture 2013 (Gran Canaria, Spain).
(November 3, 2013 - November 7, 2013).
Yarish, C. and J.K. Kim. 2013. Seaweed aquaculture: an opportunity for nutrient bioextraction in Long
Island Sound and adjacent urbanized estuaries. ASLO 2013 Aquatic Sciences Meeting. New
Orleans, LA, Feb. 17-21, 2013.
Kim J.K., S. Redmond, G.P. Kraemer, J. Curtis and C. Yarish. 2012. Open water cultivation of Gracilaria
tikvahiae and Saccharina latissima in Long Island Sound and the Bronx River Estuary. Northeast
Aquaculture Conference and Exposition. Mystic, CT. Dec. 12-15, 2012.
Yarish, C., J.K. Kim, C. Neefus and J. Curtis. 2012. An introduction to the cultivation of seaweeds: New
opportunities for integrating seaweeds in Northeast America. Northeast Aquaculture Conference
and Exposition, Mystic, CT. Dec. 12-15, 2012.
Yarish, C., Kim, J., "Exploring Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) Linkages Through Nutrient
Bioextraction: The Use of Ecological Methods to Integrate the Cultivation of Seaweeds to
Remediate Nutrified Coastal Waters." 2013 In Vitro Biology Meeting. (June 15, 2013 - June 19,
2013).
Vaudrey, J., Yarish, C., Chlus, A., "Using nitrogen budgets as a tool to more effectively manage Long
Island Sound embayments.", Bioextraction Workshop. (October 10, 2013).
Yarish, C. J. K. Kim and G.P. Kraemer. Using Cultivated Seaweed for Nutrient Bioextraction in LIS and
the Bronx River Estuary. Workshop on Using Kelp for Nutrient Bioextraction in LIS and the Bronx
River Estuary, Bridgeport Regional Aquaculture School and Technology Education Center,
Bridgeport, CT. April 3, 2013.
Invited Presentations
Yarish, C., Kim, J., Kraemer, G. P. “Cultivation of Seaweeds in Northeast America for Food, Feeds and
Fertilizer,” Mystic Aquarium’s The Ridgeway Research Seminar series, Sept. 10, 2014.
Yarish, C. and J.K. Kim. “2013-2014 Seaweed farm year in a cold Long Island Sound-An update from
Connecticut.” 1st Annual Maine Seaweed Festival, Maine Sea Grant College Program, South
Portland, ME, August. 30, 2014
Kim, J., Kraemer, G. P., Yarish, C. “An Introduction to Seaweed Aquaculture in Long Island Sound and
other Urbanized Estuaries in North America” Nature Center, Sherwood Island State Park. June 28,
2014
Yarish, C., Kim, J., Kraemer, G. P. “Opportunities for the Cultivation of Seaweeds & Shellfish in Long
Island Sound for Nutrient Bioextraction.” CT Nitrogen Program Trading Board, July 16, 2014.
Kim, J., Kraemer, G. P., Yarish, C., "An Introduction to Seaweed Aquaculture in Long Island Sound and
other Urbanized Estuaries in North America", Department Seminar, Three Rivers Community
College. (May 7, 2014).
Yarish, C., Kim, J., Kraemer, G. P., "Cultivation of Seaweeds In Northeast America For Food, Feeds And
Fertilizer,” Ocean Science Public Lecture Series at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution ,
Florida Atlantic University. (May 7, 2014;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9EFC0eWNf0&list=UU6YvxeMtmn-a5NbhMKvkJg&feature=share&index=1 ).
Yarish, C., Kim, J., Kraemer, G. P., "An Introduction to Seaweed Aquaculture in Long Island Sound and
Other Urbanized Estuaries in North America", Plenary Address to The Long Island Sound
Educators Conference (Southeastern New England Marine Educators, April 25, 2014).
Kraemer, G. P., Kim, J., Yarish, C., Hidu, T., "Cultivation Of Seaweeds In Long Island Sound For Food,
Feeds And Fertilizer", CT NOFA's 32nd Annual Winter Conference. (March 1, 2014).
Kim, J. K. and C. Yarish. Seaweed aquaculture for nutrient bioextraction and biofuel.
Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Pusan, Republic of Korea, March 29, 2013.
Kim, J. K. and C. Yarish. Seaweed Aquaculture: New opportunities for integrating seaweeds in Northeast
America. Gangwon Sea Grant International Symposium, Gangwon, Republic of Korea, March 26,
2013.
Kim, J. K. and C. Yarish. Seaweed farming: a new industry in North America.
West Sea Fisheries Research Institute Seminar, Incheon, Republic of Korea, March 19, 2013.
Kim, J. K. and C. Yarish. Nutrient bioextraction (IMTA) for urban estuaries.
Chungnam National University Seminar, March 18, 2013.
Kim J.K. and C. Yarish. 2013. Nutrient Bioextraction, a potential opportunity in West Sea of Korea.
Incheon National University. Incheon, Republic of Korea, Mar. 15, 2013.
Kim, J., Lindell, S., Yarish, C., "Nutrient Bioextraction Practice in Embayments", Department seminar,
Jeju National University (September 24, 2013).
Yarish, C., Kim, J., Kraemer, G. P. Nutrient Bioextraction: Opportunities for nutrient management and
economic development in Long Island Sound and Coastal New England, CT Society of Cosmetic
Chemists Annual Meeting, Sept. 17, 2013 (Published Abstract, Newsletter Vol. 30 (5):1; Best
paper award recipient, March 18, 2014).
Yarish, C. J. K. Kim and S. Redmond. From Ecosystem Service to Final Product – Capturing the Full Pot
ential of Seaweed Aquaculture. Angie’s Bistro Culinary Event, Bridgeport Regional Aquaculture S
chool and Technology Education Center, Bridgeport, CT. April 3, 2013.
Yarish, C. J. Kim and J. Curtis. Seaweed Aquaculture from Bioextraction of Nutrients from Long Island
Sound (R/A-39). Connecticut Sea Grant 25th Anniversary Researcher Forum, Groton, CT. April 10,
2013.
Yarish, C., J. Kim, G.P. Kraemer and S. Redmond. Nutrient Bioextraction: Opportunities for nutrient
management in urbanized estuaries through extractive aquaculture of seaweeds. University of New
England’s Marine Programs, April 22, 2013.
Yarish, C., J. Kim, G.P. Kraemer and S. Redmond.Nutrient Bioextraction: Opportunities for nutrient
management in urbanized estuaries through extractive aquaculture of seaweeds. The Center for
Coastal and Marine Studies, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT, April 9, 2013.
National Webinar for the US EPA
Yarish, C., Kim, J., Kraemer, G. P., "Seaweed aquaculture for nutrient bioextraction in Long Island
Sound and other USA urbanized estuaries", Sea Farming for Environmental and Economic
Benefits. (November 21, 2013).
•
Nutrient Bioextraction
An opportunity for nutrient management in Long Island Sound
•
Charles Yarish and Jang K. Kim
(University of Connecticut)
George P. Kraemer (Purchase College)
NUTRIENT BIOEXTRACTION
is an environmental management strategy by
which nutrients are removed from an aquatic
ecosystem through the harvest of enhanced
biological production, including the aquaculture
of marine macro algae (seaweeds) and/or
suspension-feeding shellfish.
How does nutrient bioextraction work?
Seaweeds remove inorganic nutrients from water and
shellfish (oysters, clams, mussels) filter organically
bound particles rich in nutrients. The combination of
these two groups of organisms will extract both
inorganic and organically bound nutrients, and
therefore, could be a powerful tool in cleaning up
nutrient-enriched areas in urban estuaries.
Why is nutrient bioextraction being considered in Long Island
Sound?
Dissolved oxygen in Long Island Sound bottom waters, August 14-16, 2012
(CT DEEP and EPA Long Island Sound Study)
Long Island Sound has a long history of acting as a giant receptacle for
human pollution. Its waters are consistently high in nutrients from waste
water treatment plants (point source) and land runoff (nonpoint source).
The Bronx River, is a natural freshwater river that empties into the East
River of New York City. The East River receives enormous quantities of
waste water (point source) and nonpoint source run-off .
(*Photo credit: Ron Gautreau, Jang K. Kim, Sarah Redmond and Charles Yarish)
Seaweed Aquaculture for Nutrient
Bioextraction in Long Island Sound
OUR ULTIMATIVE GOAL was to design,
Open water seaweed
farms: Bronx River
estuary, NY (left),
Fairfield, CT (western
LIS, center), and
Branford, CT (central
LIS)
demonstrate, and promote the bioextraction
of inorganic nutrients from coastal waters
using native seaweeds (the red seaweed,
Gracilaria tikvahiae & the brown sugar kelp,
Saccharina latissima).
• Gracilaria at the Bronx site grew up to 16.5 %/day in July, suggesting that nutrients were rapidly
assimilated and used to fuel the growth of new Gracilaria tissue at that site.
• The sugar kelp (Saccharina) at our farm sites grew from 1mm up to 3 m in length with a yield of 18
kg/m within 5 months of growing season (Dec. - May).
Nitrogen Removal
in a hypothetical (1 ha) nutrient
bioextraction farm (unit: (kg / ha)
Gracilaria
* 4 m spacing between longlines
Sugar kelp
* 1.5m spacing between longlines
•
•
•
Potential applications and uses of biomass
• In collaboration with T. Dowding & colleagues
(UCONN School of Business’ SLA), an optimization
model was developed to determine the value of both
nutrient bioextraction and the commodities (including
animals feeds, fertilizer, biofuels, etc.) derived from
the harvested seaweed as a method to maximize
potential multiple revenue streams, while reducing
any residual biomass waste to zero.
Ecosystem services
-Habitat Improvement
-Nitrogen credit
Sea vegetables
Hydrocolloids and
Cosmeceuticals
Biofuel
Project Partners: University of Connecticut, Purchase College, Bridgeport Regional Aquaculture Science and Technology Education Center (BRASTEC) & Rocking The Boat
Project Sponsors: Long Island Sound Study's Long Island Sound Futures Fund, New York State Attorney General's Bronx River Watershed Initiative Grant Program, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation & Connecticut Sea Grant College Program
For more information email [email protected], and/or visit http://seagrant.uconn.edu/publications/magazines/wracklines/sprsummer13/newcrop.pdf;
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2013/07/21/news/doc51eb4aea41f7b501508220.txt; http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/06/20/long-island-sound-cash-crop-makes-its-way-to-manhattan-tables/;
http://www.yourpublicmedia.org/content/wnpr/seaweed-and-sound; http://www.theday.com/article/20130527/NWS01/305279955/1070
SEAWEED AQUACULTURE:
BIOEXTRACTION OF NUTRIENTS TO
REDUCE EUTROPHICATION
GEORGE P. KRAEMER, JANG K. KIM, AND CHARLES YARISH
Like many other estuaries and coastal
regions, Long Island Sound suffers from
anthropogenic eutrophication. This
phenomenon, the addition of nutrients to
the system as a result of human activities,
is a consequence of the human alteration
of the nitrogen cycle on a global scale.
In coastal waters and estuaries primary
production by phytoplankton, seaweeds,
and seagrasses is generally
limited by the availability of
dissolved inorganic nitrogen,
present as nitrate, nitrite, and
ammonium. The sources of the
inorganic nitrogen added into
coastal waters and estuaries
are several: fertilizer run-off
from residences, agriculture,
septic seep into groundwater,
fossil fuel combustion, and
wastewater treatment plant
discharges.
in revenue each year to the local
economies2. Coastal resource managers
have become increasingly drawn into
watershed management in efforts to
reduce eutrophication and its concomitant
impacts, and protect coastal economies.
In many areas of the northeast, a high
degree of development and high population
densities preclude large scale land use
the Sound.
In 2013 hypoxia covered roughly 81 mi2
for a period of more than two months, the
second smallest hypoxic area during the
past 27 years4. It is likely that sediments
at the bottom of Long Island Sound contain
a reservoir of nitrogen that maintains the
elevated nutrient status and occurrence
of hypoxia 5. What are needed
are additional tools in the suite
of approaches to nutrient and
consequently eutrophication
reduction.
An additional strategy to mitigate
nutrient levels in estuaries
and shallow coastal waters is
seaweed aquaculture. Seaweeds
have been a part of the human
diet for ca. 14,000 years6, and
have a long and important
history in Asian countries,
The ecological consequences
including Japan, China, and
are also varied. Eutrophication
Korea. These aquatic primary
can lead to blooms of harmful
producers remove nutrients
(toxin-producing) microalgae,
from water to fuel growth and
and the onshore accumulation
reproduction in a process
of excess seaweed – one need
termed bioextraction. The same
Left: Gracilaria harvest after 2 weeks of growth at the Bronx River
only think back to the sailing Estuary site (in foreground Purchase college Student, John Delgado function occurs on land when
events of the 2008 Olympics and background Rocking the Boat student, Gianmarco Bocchini). wetlands and riparian plants7 act
in Qingdao, China for a an Photo credit: J.K. Kim and C. Yarish.
as “sponges” absorbing nutrient
example of this impact 1. In
from ground and surface water.
addition, the sinking of algae to the bottom changes that could reduce nutrient inputs. Through growth of seaweeds, dissolved
in shallow waters delivers biomass to Within 50 miles of its shores, Long Island nutrients are removed and concentrated
microbes, with decomposition consuming Sound is home to more than 20 million in algal biomass which is then harvested,
effectively removing nutrients from the
oxygen, leading to hypoxia and anoxia. people3.
aquatic system.
This has become a regular late summer
feature of estuaries in the U.S., including These high population densities translate
Long Island Sound, Chesapeake Bay, into large eutrophication pressures. Bioextraction is not envisioned as a
Neuse River, and along coastal areas Strategies for reducing nutrient input replacement for any of the current
throughout the U.S. The “Dead Zone” include programs to educate homeowners nutrient or eutrophication mitigation
off the mouth of the Mississippi River is to the action-at-a-distance effects of strategies. Rather, it gives another point
the most famous example of this. In all over-fertilization of suburban lawns, of attack, and is an approach with
cases, ecological impacts also translate conversion of septic systems to sewerage, subsidiary benefits. Once harvested from
into economic impacts, from reductions and upgrading of wastewater treatment aquaculture systems, algal biomass has
in fisheries yield to man-hours consumed plants to augment microbial denitrification the potential for many uses. Depending
cleaning beaches of accumulated seaweed. prior to water discharge. These efforts all on the species cultured and siting of
cost money, and though demonstrably farm systems, biomass may be sold
Estuaries and coastal zones are some of effective in reducing inorganic nitrogen
the most important regional economic inputs over the past 25 years, have not 4 http://www.ct.gov/deep/lib/deep/water/lis_water_quality/hypoxia/2013_season_review.pdf
drivers. Long Island Sound, for example, eliminated hypoxia in the western arm of 5 e.g.,
Lai & Lam (2008) Marine Pollution Bulletin, Vol. 57,
contributes eight to nine billion dollars
Issues 6–12, pp. 349–356
2 http://longislandsoundstudy.net/about-the-sound/by-
1 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/world/
asia/01algae.html
the-numbers/
3 Latimer et al. (2014). Long Island Sound: Prospects for
the Urban Sea. Springer. New York. 558p.
6 Dillehay et al. (2008) Science, Vol. 320 no. 5877 pp. 784786.
7 e.g., Likens (2010) River Ecosystem Ecology: A Global
Perspective, Elsevier Pub., 424 p.
Continued on Page 17
Page 16 * AMWS Newsletter No. 89
Seaweed (Continued from Page 16)
for direct consumption as human
food1. In addition, biomass may also
become part of a feed for fish, shrimp,
chicken, cattle, etc. Biomass unsold
for consumption has potential use
as a source of cosmeceutical and
nutraceuticals compounds, and cell
wall phycocolloids (agars, carrageenans
or alginates). Anything remaining
has potential value as feedstock for
organic fertilizers and/or biofuels.
These ancillary revenue sources help
make seaweed bioextraction a more
attractive, economically viable option.
Seaweed aquaculture is not a “one
size fits all” strategy. Native seaweed
species differ in phycocolloid chemistry
and quantity, ability to sequester
nitrogen, growth rate, and life history
malleability2. In fact, seasonality
of growth varies among species,
necessitating a sort of crop rotation.
Gracilaria tikvahiae, for example, is Right: Bren Smith, owner of the Thimble Island Oyster Co. harvests sugar kelp grown at a site off
the Thimble Islands, Branford, CT. Smith is the first commercial seaweed grower in Long Island
a red, agar-producing seaweed that Sound. Photo credit: R. Gautreau.
grows well during warmer months
(water temperature greater than 15°C)
up to 145 kilograms of nitrogen during a sediment reservoir. Seaweed aquaculture
in temperate ecosystems. Under
optimal conditions, this species may 120 days growing season (July – October). could be a cost effective, affordable and
grow at more than 16% per day, and Since these estimates only encompass equitable solution to remove inorganic
accumulate nitrogen at up to 6% per gram part of the full May-October growing nutrients in urbanized coastal systems.
of dry tissue. The sugar kelp, Saccharina season, total realized bioextraction would Seaweed aquaculture, therefore, could be
latissima, is a brown, alginate-producing be much greater. The greatest extraction, included as part of a suite of management
seaweed growing when temperatures are a function of ambient temperature, light, tools to minimize nutrient impacts in
less than about 15°C. After out-planting and N concentration, will likely occur urbanized coastal waters, while providing
juvenile kelp (<1mm), the sugar kelp can during May-July. The sugar kelp can a new business opportunities for seaweed
4
grow up to 3.0 m in length with a yield of remove up to 183 kilograms nitrogen per aquaculturalists in the United States .
over 18 kilograms fresh weight per meter hectare, during the winter spring growing
of line after 5 months (December-May). season. The economic value of N removal, George P. Kraemer, Professor
3
The sugar kelp accumulates nitrogen up if incorporated into a N trading program , Department of Environmental Studies
Purchase College
would
be
as
high
as
$1,600
per
hectare
to 3% on a dry weight basis, depending
for Gracilaria tikvahiae and $2,020 per 735 Anderson Hill Road
on location.
hectare for the sugar kelp. These values Purchase, NY, 10577, USA
Recent studies in the Long Island Sound would represent additional income for
and the Bronx River estuaries, supported seaweed aquaculturalists beyond the value Jang K. Kim, Assistant Research Professor
Department of Marine Sciences
by the Connecticut Sea Grant College of seaweed products.
University of Connecticut
Program, the U.S. EPA Long Island Sound
Study’s Long Island Sound Futures Fund, The bottom line is that seaweed 1 University Place
New York State Attorney General’s Bronx aquaculture removes inorganic nutrients Stamford, CT, 06901, USA
River Watershed Initiative Grant Program from seawater in a fashion similar to landand National Fish and Wildlife Foundation based wetlands; nutrients that could Charles Yarish, Professor
estimated that the biomass yields of otherwise fuel the growth of potentially Department of Ecology and Evolutionary
microalgal
and
nuisance Biology
Gracilaria tikvahiae and the sugar kelp harmful
were up to 21 and 62 metric tons fresh macroalgal blooms. And, since a fraction University of Connecticut
of biomass eventually reaches the base 1 University Place
weight per hectare, respectively.
of the water column, bloom prevention Stamford, CT, 06901, USA
The aquacultured Gracilaria tikvahiae in a through bioextraction will help reduce (203) 251-8432
hypothetical one hectare farm can remove bottom water hypoxia, and eventually [email protected]
draw down nutrients stored in the
1 http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2013/08/from-the-lab-to-
the-dinner-table-kelp/
2 http://seagrant.uconn.edu/publications/aquaculture/
handbook.pdf
3 http://www.ct.gov/deep/lib/deep/water/municipal_
wastewater/nitrogen_report_2012.pdf
4 http://water.epa.gov/resource_performance/perfor-
mance/upload/OW_End_of_Year_BPFY2012_Report.pdf
April 2014 * Page 17
2nd Workshop on Using Cultivated Seaweed
and Shellfish for Nutrient Bioextraction
in LIS and the Bronx River Estuary
Thursday, October 10th, 1pm to 4pm
Mamaroneck Town Center Courtroom
740 West Boston Post Road, Mamaroneck, NY10543
This workshop will be hosted by the University of Connecticut,
EPA’s Long Island Sound Futures Fund (NFWF), Purchase
College and Connecticut Sea Grant.
The Long Island Sound and adjacent coastal waters (ie. Bronx
River Estuary) receive high quantities of point source (waste water) and nonpoint source runoff (storm water, atmospheric deposition, etc.) leading to coastal eutrophication. Current
mitigation strategies have had limited success managing the nutrient influx. This workshop will
demonstrate utilizing seaweed and shellfish as nutrient bioextraction tools in water treatment.
Regulatory managers, municipalities, and other stakeholders who have an interest in
improving water quality are encouraged to attend.
There is no fee to attend this workshop, however registration is required. Please RSVP to
Anoushka Concepcion ([email protected]) or (860) 405-9105 by
September 27th.
(tentative):
Gary Wikfors (NOAA):
“What We Learned About Ribbed Mussels and Hunts Point”
Charles Yarish (UConn): “Seaweed Aquaculture for Nutrient Bioextraction in Long Island
Sound and the Urbanized Bronx River Estuaries”
Jang K. Kim (UConn):
“Multi-cropping Seaweed Gracilaria tikvahiae with Oysters for
Nutrient Bioextraction and Sea Vegetables in Waquoit Bay,
Massachusetts”
Jamie Vaudrey (UConn): “Using Nitrogen Budgets as a Tool to More Effectively Manage
Long Island Sound Embayments”
Wade Carden (NYSDEC): “An Overview of the Permitting Process for Seaweed Farming NY
Coastal Waters”
Kelly Streich (CT DEEP): “An Overview of the CT Nitrogen Credit Exchange Program”
Panel Discussion: “Opportunities for Nutrient Bioextraction for coastal waters of CT and NY”

1401.12.033050-final_programmatic_report

Transcription

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