By Staff
A new study in Maine will look at the ability of a type of seaweed called kelp to make the ocean more habitable for marine organisms, and possibly increase what's harvested from it.
East Boothbay’s Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences has received a $900,000 grant to study how kelp aquaculture can counteract effects of climate change. The international project was funded by World Wildlife Fund with support from the Bezos Earth Fund.
The goal of the project is to inform farmers, the public and policymakers, and ultimately to help restore the health and productivity of the oceans.
With partners from the Island Institute and the University of New Hampshire, Senior Research Scientist Nichole Price, the project lead, has been working with mussel and seaweed farmers in Maine to test the potential of growing kelp alongside blue mussels, which are particularly vulnerable to increasing ocean acidity.