The Seaweed Scene 2012
On August 30, 2012, approximately 100 people from diverse backgrounds attended a workshop titled “The Seaweed Scene” in Belfast, Maine. The meeting, held at the University of Maine Hutchinson Center, brought people together to discuss the ongoing development of the seaweed industry in the state and the region, and to build a network of professionals in different fields. The meeting was attended by seaweed harvesters and processors, scientists, engineers, food processing specialists, regulators and policy professionals, extension personnel, aquaculturists, wastewater treatment specialists, animal feeds experts, and representatives of biofuel and other industry. Funding for the event came from Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, with coordination by Maine Sea Grant and University of Maine Cooperative Extension.
This page is devoted to delivering the materials and details of the discussions to those who were not able to attend the meeting in person.
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- Dr. Eric Tamigneaux of MERINOV (Quebec, Canada) delivers a presentation on activities in seaweed farming in Atlantic Canada
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- Dr. Charles Yarish of the University of Connecticut is one of the pioneers in seaweed farming in the US; delivering the keynote speech to open the Seaweed Scene 2012.
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- The Seaweed Scene brought people from widely diverging backgrounds together, and played a strong role in building the network of seaweed professionals.
Presentations:
Dr. Charles Yarish, University of Connecticut
Opportunities for Seaweed Mariculture in Northeast America
Tollef Olson, Ocean Approved
Kelp Aquaculture in Maine
Sarah Redmond and Dana Morse, Maine Sea Grant and UMaine Cooperative Extension
A Pilot Project to Stimulate Seaweed Aquaculture on Mussel Farms in Maine
Sarah Redmond
Beyond Sushi: A Review of Current and Potential Products from Marine Macroalgae
Dr. Eric Tamigneaux, Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles
An Overview of Applied Research on Kelp Aquaculture in Québec, Canada
Related Documents & Resources
– Brief notes from the meeting
– Island Institute: Island & Coastal Innovation Fund
– University of Maine Cooperative Extension: Recipe to Market: How to start a specialty food business in Maine
– Maine Dept. of Marine Resources: Conducting Aquaculture in Maine
Following the workshop, Catherine Schmitt wrote an article in Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors, on the seaweed movement in Maine, entitled: Maine’s Kelp Highway.
Muriel Hendrix, writing for Aquaculture North America, put together a very nice piece entitled “Seaweed: The Versatile Vegetable” that showed up in the November/December issue of ANA.
One specific recommendation from the workshop was the development of a networking tool, so that those interested in seaweed-related topics could communicate and discuss topics publicly, and as a group. Two mechanisms were developed: The Seaweed Scene mailing list, and a Facebook page called Maine Seaweed Social.
“A Pilot Project to Stimulate Seaweed Production on Mussel Farms in Maine” was a project supported by the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center in 2011. This video is an overview of this first growing season with new kelp farmers in Maine.
For technical questions, follow up, mailing list subscribing, or other details, please contact:
Dana Morse
207.563.8186