Applicants are asking Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources for permission to begin hundreds of acres of kelp farming on the state’s tidelands, reports Alaska Public Media. Last year, the state got requests to lease around 18 acres for various types of mariculture; this year, kelp farming would occupy two-thirds of the 1,000 acres of lease requests.
“This was a large year,” said Christy Colles, manager of the DNR’s leasing unit, calling it the largest total for requests that she can recall. “Kelp farming requires more acreage and a lot more people are putting in for acreage.” Tidelands also are leased for oyster and geoduck farming, endeavors that take 5-10 years to show a profit. An economic study says larger mariculture farms generally make profits sooner due to greater efficiency and diversification that can smooth the path to revenue. That may be one inspiration for kelp farming.
A commercial fisherman, Nicholas Mangini, harvested 15,000 pounds of ribbon and sugar kelp on one acre of tideland this spring, and he plans to expand to 18 acres for the new season. Like other forms of agriculture, kelp farming is not an easy field to break into, says Mangini. “It’s not as easy as throwing some lines into the water and growing some kelp.”