California State coastal officials voted Wednesday to allow a plan to build the United States' largest kelp farm 6 miles (10 kilometers) off the Southern California coast to move forward as the Trump administration seeks to ramp up aquaculture in the Pacific Ocean.
Ocean Rainforest, which is based in the Faroe Islands in Northern Europe, is planning to grow giant kelp on a roughly 3-square-mile (7.8-square-kilometer) stretch of federal waters to develop products to boost soil and plant health in California’s avocado farms and strawberry fields. Some environmentalists are concerned that the lines used to grow seaweed could tangle whales and that increased boat traffic will disrupt an expanse of ocean that has been wild.
Ocean Rainforest said it plans to gradually build up the sea farm over a decade and could harvest as much as 6,000 tons of kelp at full capacity, ramping up a U.S. seaweed industry that lags behind Asia despite the country's extensive coastlines. The plan is to harvest kelp and process it in the port city of Ventura about 60 miles (97 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles.
Farm part of push for aquaculture
The proposal to grow kelp off Ventura County comes as the Trump administration seeks to promote commercial aquaculture. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration last year designated 13 areas totaling 33 square miles (85 square kilometers) for the development of aquaculture off California and Texas. The plan is part of a 2020 push to develop the U.S. seafood industry.
It also comes as the market for seaweed has been growing for uses ranging from restaurant dishes to pet food. Dozens of farms are cultivating different types of seaweed in New England, the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. A World Bank report in 2023 estimated seaweed markets could grow another $11.8 billion by 2030.
