Paul Dobbins, President of Ocean Approved, shared his vast knowledge of kelp farming with a group of over 35 people yesterday during a Lunch 'n' Learn in Mather Auditorium. He came fully equipped not only with a very informative lecture, but also a huge bowl of delicious homemade kelp cole slaw for everyone to sample!

Among the many intriguing pieces of information that were shared:

• Of the 7,700 million metric tons of food on earth, only 1.5 percent is seafood. This is despite the fact that 70 percent of the earth is covered with water. There is a huge opportunity to grow more of our food at sea through kelp farming. Ocean Approved does not use any chemicals or toxins through its process of growing kelp.
• Ocean Approved, based in Maine, is the only commercial kelp farm in the United States. Its kelp is 100 percent natural and highly nutritious.
• Kelp, referred to as a "sea vegetable," grows from spores. The spores are tiny--950 million kelp spores would fit on a postage stamp.
• When kelp begins its life in this spore stage, it behaves much like an animal, moving around on its own power!
• The ideal temperature for farming kelp in the ocean is 52 degrees. The perfect depth is 7 feet. Maine's cold waters are an ideal kelp farming environment.
• When water temperatures hit 62 degrees, kelp stops growing and goes into its reproductive phase.
• As kelp grows, it absorbs excess nutrients from the water and provides shade and shelter for marine organisms (such as lobsters and winter pollock), while also producing oxygen through photosynthesis.
• Three months after putting "baby kelp" into Casco Bay, Paul and his team harvest Sugar Kelp that has grown to lengths of 8 feet. During the fastest growing month of February, it grows 2.5-3 inches per day.
• Mature kelp puts out UV inhibitors in the summer months, which protects younger kelp underneath from the sun.
• Kelp is a bioaccumulator of heavy metals. In England, kelp farms have been shut down due to high arsenic levels. Ocean Approved kelp from Casco Bay, however, does not have any detectable traces of heavy metals.
• One of the challenges of kelp farming in Maine is finding an area that is ideal for kelp farming, but isn't already being used for lobstering.

Thank you to Paul for such an informative and engaging program!