What Is Sugar Kelp?

Kelp in the Wild

  • Sugar kelp, or Saccharina latissima Latin, is a brown marine algae native to Rhode Island waters. Like other marine algae, sugar kelp is not a plant and does not have roots, but rather a holdfast that stations it to the ground in the wild. As with all kelp, it is ecologically vital, being a primary producer (makes it own food from sunlight) and offers food and structure for other marine life.

  • Sea Gardening… Sugar kelp not only grows wild in Rhode Island, but it can be cultivated, or grown by people, through the practice of aquaculture or what we like to call sea gardening. Sugar kelp is unique to other cultured species in Rhode Island like shellfish, in that it is a winter-only crop, with planting happening in the fall and harvest in the spring. During these few months, sugar kelp can go from seedling to nearly 15 feet. Imagine if our gardens grew that fast?!

  • What can kelp be used for?...Essentially everything you can think of, and more we haven’t even dreamed of yet!

    • Food for the Soul – Good for the environment but also delicious and nutritious to eat – Filled with essential micronutrients and vitamins, kelp is the perfect power food. Used in sushi, salads, and more recently in everything from granola bars to Sea-Chi (think kimchi with kelp), it’s a healthy, sustainable way to eat local and feel good. Favorite kelp-inspired recipes (need to find and add; also thyroid links and other resources)

    • Kelp-based ingredients –Kelp and other algae are used in everything from toothpaste, shampoo, ice cream, and gummy bears! (show examples)

    • Kelp in Bioplastics- The death of plastics – (Show examples of kelps application as a bioplastic, NotPla, etc.)

    • Kelp Biofuel - Powering the Future –(Virgin Air, Elon Musk, etc. etc.  Biomedical applications, etc.)

    • Feeding cattle & reducing methane – (Share recent studies)

    • Kelp: The Carbon Slurper – All the carbon sink potential, nutrient uptake, global and land-based comparisons; Offsetting our carbon footprint

Pathways for sequestration of macroalgae carbon into the deep sea. As macroalgae grow, they removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Most of the carbon sequestered by macroalgae is sent to the deep sea either in the form of dissolved carbon or in the form of plant detritus which easily floats out to sea thanks to gas-filled bladders. This figure was adapted from Krause-Jensen and Duarte, 2016

Pathways for sequestration of macroalgae carbon into the deep sea. As macroalgae grow, they removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Most of the carbon sequestered by macroalgae is sent to the deep sea either in the form of dissolved carbon or in the form of plant detritus which easily floats out to sea thanks to gas-filled bladders. This figure was adapted from Krause-Jensen and Duarte, 2016

  • Absorbing excess nutrients like Nitrogen in the marine environment