Suzie Flores of Stonington Kelp Company went from beginner in 2016 to Connecticut’s largest sugar kelp farmer. Drawn by a love of the ocean, she and her husband, U.S. Marine veteran Jay Douglas, bought Pawcatuck’s Mechanic Street Marina, and with mentoring from nonprofit Greenwave, they began farming in what Flores calls “a sink or swim moment,” first harvesting in 2018.

Their 10-acre Fishers Island Sound farm (leased from the state) has expansive views of Stonington, Long Island Sound, and the Atlantic.

“It’s super fun to go out on the boat with my husband,” Flores says.

They visit the farm weekly, December to April.

“You see seals, migrating birds. It’s peaceful, and wonderful to have the opportunity to do something that puts food on our plates.”

After growing season, their gear and crops must by law be removed from the water. In spring, they harvest 100 to 500 pounds of kelp weekly.

“At first,” says Flores, “we had no idea if seaweed would grow at the site.”

Little information existed on the new industry when they started. The business is still small. Their boat is “a 24-foot Privateer with a winch welded on by my husband; we’re not a massively mechanized operation.”

“Kelp farming is the fastest-growing type of U.S. aquaculture,” says Anoushka Concepcion, Connecticut Sea Grant and UConn Extension educator. In 2001, New England’s first kelp farm started in Bridgeport, allowing diversification from a shellfish-dominated aquaculture industry.

“Kelp is not a plant,” Concepcion explains. “It’s a macroalgae.”

Native brown sugar kelp (or kombu) is the only species Connecticut law allows growing for human consumption in coastal waterways. Sensitive to freezing, and spoilage if not immediately cooked or preserved, kelp must be grown near shore so boats can quickly deliver the harvest.

Flores appreciates revitalizing a working waterfront. “It’s really gratifying to participate in an activity that does so much good. These small networks of inshore farms have a positive impact for the shoreline economy.”

Kelp also cleans water, and absorbs carbon and agricultural runoff nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. It needs no additional water, land, fertilizers, or pesticides, just sunlight.

Connecticut farmers must apply for a license to grow, and their harvest must pass state food safety testing to be licensed to sell kelp commercially as food. With her marketing background, Flores realized this was the key to success.

“Connecticut requires food safety testing of all seaweed harvest before it’s sold,” says Concepcion, who led development of Connecticut’s seaweed food safety guidance, and works on market development. “Great news for consumers: Connecticut vouches that the kelp is safe to eat!”

Although challenges include cold winter work, climate change-caused shorter growing seasons and fewer seed sources, “It’s wonderful to grow food not putting pressure on external resources,” says Flores. “Figuring out how to grow, that’s a fun challenge too.”

Flores, Jonathan McGee of New England Sea Farms, and two Rhode Island ocean farmers formed the New England Sugar Kelp Co-operative to expand their businesses. Participating in an ethical collective, making environmentally responsible products that support beginning farmers, and collaborating with researchers, fishers, and marine biologists “enriches your life in so many ways,” she says. “We needed a lifeline and created one ourselves.”

In 2021, Co-operative farmers partnered with local restaurants on the first Sea Kelp Harvest Week, to educate the public about kelp and celebrate spring’s first harvest. This year’s celebration features restaurants, breweries, and markets along the coast from Fairfield County to Providence and Newport, with special food and drinks created to promote the versatile seaweed in “amazing concoctions,” says Flores.

Chefs work culinary magic with kelp: pasta, smoking with meats; adding to baked goods to retain water; and candying. Highlights include: Earth Day party at Grey Sail brewery with kelp cooking demonstrations, seaweed swag, live music, food trucks, and seaweed cocktails; and dinners at Oyster Club (executive chef Renee Touponce uses kelp in oils, butter, aioli, and wrapped around fish as a seasoning) and Shipwright’s Daughter (executive chef David Standridge makes kelp-wrapped scallops, kelp noodles, and flan).

Fresh kelp has a crisp crunch. Flores eats it raw, frozen, or blanched; dried in seasoning, vegan furikake, or salt. She serves the pickled stems with tartar sauce.

“The umami flavor enhances everything. It’s incredible,” Flores says.

In snacks, soups, salads, kimchi, tea, even bread, Flores says, “It’s tasty, healthy and nutritious,” containing fiber, vitamins C, K, nitrogen, iron, calcium, magnesium, and omega-3s.

“Kelp is mainly used as food,” says Concepcion.

Yet the amount sold comprises only a fraction of the total harvest; other uses are being researched.

Farmers need expanded, reliable markets.

“Start with buying and trying it at Connecticut restaurants and shops with native kelp,” Concepcion says. “Especially during the harvest season, when it is the freshest. Make sure to ask for locally grown kelp!”

Kelp Harvest Week provides a unique opportunity for the public to sample this native seaweed and support these independent farmers’ sustainable local industry, helping both community and environment.

Kelp Week events and venues, April 20-May 1:

• Earth Day party (1-5 p.m. April 22) at Grey Sail Brewery (Westerly, RI)

• Shell and Bones, Tavern on State, and Atticus Market (New Haven)

• Port of Call, Oyster Club, and Shipwright’s Daughter, including a ticketed dinner April 30 with guest chef Victoria Blamey (Mystic)

• Fiddleheads Co-op (New London)

• Seawell Seafood (Stonington)

• Goldburger (Newington)

• Matunuck Oyster Bar (South Kingstown, RI)

• Gansett Poké (Narragansett, RI)

• Stoneacre Garden (Newport, RI)

• Flanders Fish (East Lyme)

• Educational programs through Yellow Farmhouse (Stonington)

• Cooking classes with seaweed (April 29) at Whitegate Farm (East Lyme)

• General webinars, library talks

Check out kelp farm websites, Facebook, and Instagram. Dried seaweed is available online. Find fresh kelp April to May at farmer’s markets/shops, including Stonington farmer’s market, Mike’s Organic CSA Stamford, Atlantic Seafood Old Saybrook, FarmFresh RI; starting this year at New Haven’s City Seed and New Canaan farmer’s markets; Healthy PlanEat, listing farmers’ available crops (https://healthyplaneat.com); and others.

New England Sugar Kelp Co-op: https://newenglandkelp.com

Kelp Co-op (recipes): https://newenglandkelp.com/sugar-kelp-diy

Stonington Kelp Co.: www.stoningtonkelpco.com

Stonington Kelp Co. (recipes): www.stoningtonkelpco.com/recipes

New England Sea Farms: https://newenglandseafarms.com

Sea Grant (federal/state partnership, part of NOAA, funding outreach, research, and education): https://seagrant.uconn.edu

Resource/research/information sites: Seaweedhub.org and Safeseaweedcoalition.org