Kelp Farming in Massachusetts: What Have We Learned?

Published on: October 6, 2026

Kelp farming has attracted a lot of attention in New England. It has been explored as a way to diversify coastal businesses, support working waterfronts, and add another crop for shellfish growers during the quieter winter months.

Most kelp farming in our region has focused on sugar kelp, a large brown seaweed native to New England waters. Sugar kelp has become the main seaweed species grown in the United States, and growers have established methods for starting it in nurseries and growing it on lines in coastal waters during the colder months.

But being able to grow kelp is only one part of the equation.

A new report, Kelp Aquaculture in Massachusetts: Opportunities, Challenges, and Future Directions, looks at what has actually happened on Massachusetts kelp farms, what growers have learned, and what questions still need to be answered.

The short version? Sugar kelp can grow in Massachusetts, but where you grow it, how much you can grow, and what you can do with it after harvest all matter.

What Massachusetts Kelp Growers Told Us

One of the most useful parts of this research came directly from the growers themselves.

The project team talked with 10 people who have grown kelp in Massachusetts. Most tried it for a few seasons before stopping because they were not getting enough growth or enough financial return to keep going. At the time of the study, only one operation interviewed was still actively farming kelp.

Interestingly, the day-to-day work of growing kelp was not necessarily the problem.

Growers described kelp as relatively easy to manage. It can also fit well with shellfish farming because kelp grows during the winter, when shellfish work tends to slow down.

The harder part was getting enough reliable growth in the right place.

On Cape Cod, Location Makes a Big Difference

This is where the research gets especially interesting for Cape Cod.

Many kelp growing efforts south of Cape Cod have struggled. One likely reason is a lack of dissolved inorganic nitrogen in the water. Put simply, kelp needs nitrogen to grow, and many of the waters tested south of Cape Cod did not have enough in the form they can utilize during the winter growing season.

Over several years, Cape Cod Cooperative Extension and partners followed small test plantings at 15 sites south of Cape Cod. Falmouth Harbor showed the most success, while most of the other sites had nutrient or salinity levels that were likely too low to support strong kelp growth.

There may be better growing conditions north of Cape Cod, but there are trade-offs there too. North Atlantic right whale habitat can limit where kelp farms can be placed, and more exposed waters can leave farms vulnerable to storms.

So there is no simple “best place” to start a kelp farm. Finding the right site that is both permittable and productive is still one of the biggest challenges.

You Grew Kelp. Now Who Will Buy It?

This may be the biggest reality check in the report.

Even when Massachusetts growers successfully harvested kelp, finding someone to buy it was difficult. Some growers interviewed for the report could not sell their harvest at all.

There are small markets for local kelp in food and specialty products. But those markets can only use so much. Larger markets need a steady supply, competitive prices, and processing that Massachusetts does not currently have at scale.

Massachusetts also lacks shared infrastructure for processing, drying, storing, and distributing kelp. That can leave an individual grower responsible for much more than farming.

One grower summed up what needs to happen:

“More market and product development is required to form the foundation of a robust industry with longevity.”

In other words, growing more kelp doesn’t help if there isn’t somewhere for that kelp to go.

Good Research Helps Ask Better Questions

The challenges in the report do not mean seaweed aquaculture has no future in Massachusetts.

Instead, the research helps narrow the questions. Where can kelp grow reliably? What markets make sense for Massachusetts-grown seaweed? What infrastructure would growers need? And could another type of seaweed be a better fit in some locations?

State Senator Julian Cyr of the Cape and Islands District highlighted the value of the research in helping guide future decisions about kelp aquaculture in Massachusetts.

“Massachusetts’ coastal economy depends on our ability to support innovation, protect our waters and stay rooted in the realities of the people doing the work. Kelp aquaculture has generated tremendous interest as a potential new tool for coastal communities, and this research gives us an important foundation for understanding where opportunities exist and where more research is needed.”

Rather than assuming kelp farming will work everywhere, the experiences of Massachusetts growers can help inform where future research, investment, and testing may be most useful.

What Comes Next for Kelp Farming in Massachusetts?

The report points to several areas worth exploring.

Better site selection could help identify places where kelp is more likely to grow reliably. Market and product development could help connect growers with buyers. Smaller pilot projects could answer questions before growers make larger investments. Shared processing infrastructure could also make it easier to turn harvested kelp into a product that can actually reach a market.

And sugar kelp may not be the only option.

Growers interviewed for the report expressed interest in other seaweed species, including species that naturally grow in Massachusetts waters or may have greater market value. Future research could help determine whether some of those seaweeds are a better fit for local growing conditions and markets.

That may be one of the most useful outcomes of this work.

Someone interested in kelp farming in Massachusetts does not have to start from zero.

The experiences of growers, combined with research on local waters and markets, provide a clearer picture of what has worked, what hasn’t, and what questions to ask before making a significant investment.

For growers, researchers, industry partners, and policymakers, that information can help guide what comes next.

Read the Massachusetts Kelp Aquaculture Report

Kelp Aquaculture in Massachusetts: Opportunities, Challenges, and Future Directions brings together grower experiences, research on growing conditions, permitting information, and an analysis of potential markets for Massachusetts-grown kelp.

The report was developed by Cape Cod Cooperative Extension, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Sea Grant, Global Seaweed Coalition, Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, with support from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Read the full report: Kelp Aquaculture in Massachusetts: Opportunities, Challenges, and Future Directions, hosted by the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance.

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