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Gray clouds hung low over Saco Bay on the morning of May 7 as University of New England students and professional staff pulled thick bands of kelp from the cold spring water, hauling nearly 1,000 pounds of seaweed aboard a 51���� research vessel.

The harvest marked another successful season of hands-on aquaculture work at 51����’s sea farm northeast of Ram Island, where students are learning firsthand about a rapidly expanding sector of Maine’s coastal economy. Alongside harvesting traditional sugar kelp, the team also successfully cultivated Alaria esculenta — commonly known as winged kelp — a species never before grown at the University’s sea farm.

For students aboard the vessel, the work was equal parts research and workforce training. 

“This was my first time getting to see a sea farm in person, and I was really surprised and amazed by the amount of kelp that was able to grow,” said Julianne Manlove (Marine Sciences and Biochemistry, ’29), whose early experience learning to pilot 51����’s vessels has led her to work a summer job at a boatyard this summer.  “I’ve known that I want to do some kind of research in the future, but having experiences like this one on the kelp farm has been awesome in helping me figure out what exactly I’m interested in long-term.”

51���� student and professional researchers harvest about 1,000 pounds of edible kelp  from the University’s sea farm in the waters off its University’s Biddeford Campus.

As kelp farming gains momentum across Maine, researchers and coastal industries alike are exploring the crop’s potential not only as a sustainable food source but also for its broader environmental benefits, including nutrient removal and ecosystem support, according to Matt Duddy, M.S., kelp farm manager for 51����’s School of Marine and Environmental Programs.

“Cultivation of kelp is a rapidly growing industry in Maine, especially as traditional fisheries become depleted or scarce due to climate change,” Duddy said.

Duddy noted this year’s harvest had two primary goals, the first being to cultivate the Alaria. The second goal, he said, was to harvest enough of both the Alaria and more traditional sugar kelp to supply the 51����’s SeaMade Kelp Bar project, a student-run enterprise that has become one of 51����’s most visible interdisciplinary sustainability initiatives.

Once dried and processed, the harvest will yield roughly 100 pounds of usable kelp, enough to produce approximately 5,000 of the bars made from, in addition to the kelp, all-natural local ingredients.

For Duddy, the harvest represented far more than a successful yield: It afforded students the opportunity to experience every aspect of running a sustainability-focused business by way of 51����’s own “working waterfront,” from the sea to store shelves.

“The great thing about the SeaMade Bar is that it is a student-run business venture, and so the creation of the bar, packaging, and nutritional analysis is all student led,” he said. “In addition, we had a great deal of student assistance with both installing and harvesting the farm this year.”

(Clockwise, from top left): Julianne Manlove (’29) and Jasmin Townsend-Ng (’26) pose with the day’s harvest; Matthew Duddy, M.S., prepares collected kelp for drying; Brian Will, B.S. ’23, holds a thick ribbon of kelp; an all-hands-on-deck operation; and kelp is clipped from its cultivation lines.

SeaMade became part of 51���� in 2024, when founders Tara Treichel and Mark Dvorozniak donated the company to the University as a hands-on educational initiative rooted in sustainability and innovation. 

Since then, the project, which sees the bars produced in 51����’s Teaching Kitchen at the heart of an innovation ecosystem on 51����’s Biddeford Campus, has brought together students and faculty from marine sciences, nutrition, business, sustainability, and entrepreneurship programs to help oversee everything from aquaculture and food production to branding and product development.

Duddy said experiences like the harvest provide students with tangible workforce skills tied directly to Maine’s changing coastal economy. 

“When students participate in the kelp harvest and design of the SeaMade Bar, they are learning tangible skills that can be applied to jobs on the working waterfront in the future,” Duddy said.

Following the harvest, students began the next phase of the process: cleaning, drying, and preparing the kelp for use in future batches of SeaMade bars, which feature combinations of locally sourced ingredients including honey, berries, and seaweed.

“I am really excited to see how this project continues to grow,” Duddy said.