Maine Seaweed Council was formed in 1993 by a group of seaweed harvesters, business owners, researchers, and consultants to address growing concerns within the seaweed “industry” in Maine. These concerns included managing seaweed natural resources for fairness and sustainability, training new harvesters and those looking to start seaweed businesses, and educating the public as well as law makers and resource managers about the benefits of seaweeds for human and animal health and use in agriculture.

The Seaweed Council has advocated for years for statewide management of the seaweed industry, to protect both livelihoods and ecosystems from over-harvesting and misuse of resources. In 2013 the Maine Department of Marine Resources began the process of developing statewide management plans for seaweed, starting with Rockweed (Ascophyllum nodosum). Council members have pioneered a variety of sustainable harvesting and processing practices and methods, including mechanical harvesters, hand-harvesting, harvesting solely within a local area, sun and air drying, and most recently “farming” kelp and other types of seaweed in aquaculture projects.

Maine Seaweed Council 2022

The Maine Seaweed Council’s membership is currently comprised of individual, harvesters, researchers, processors, product makers and associates. Officers and board members names are shown in bold.