Week 5: How to Start a Kelp Farm: Guided Course & Community
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Join this discussion if you are part of the How to Start a Kelp Farm Guided Course and Community. (To learn with us, register here.)
We’d love to know how your leasing and permitting planning is going:- Of all the steps required for gaining a lease and permit in your area, which do you foresee as being the most difficult and why?
Feel free to share any other thoughts about this week’s course. (See the full course program.)
Be in touch!
-Lindsay
@lindsay_olsen
Won't be able to join today but I have a question for the government rep. How far away from the shore does a person have to get before no government (not just state), would need to be appeased to be able to grow a farm?
In Iceland, it is common knowledge that landowners have rights to shore areas 115m out to the water from their lowest tide line. It is common practice to respect landowner's rights and ask for their permission. Seaweed farming is considered primary production of food, and falls under the Food Act (from 1995). I was told by the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority that I was the first to setup a seaweed farm in Iceland. The regulations and administrations for seaweed farming isn't fully developed.
At the beginning of my farm planning, I met with landowners and the municipality government for permission. The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority and The Public Health Authority of my region were consulted for necessary permits, got approval from the Icelandic Transport Authority, notified the Coast Guard, and there may be more authorities that I will be pointed to talk with for the future plots.
It was necessary to communicate proactively with various ministries to get clues on permitting. My experience hasn't been a smooth sail, but far from being as rugged as Mike's, so I shouldn't complain. If I have to choose, the most difficult part may be from the uncertainties and delays from lack of clear guidance on the whole process and the parties to involve. It is a possibility that regulations would combine it with shellfish aquaculture, then the permit fees might become too high to farm seaweed.
@lindsay_olsen I was struck by the fact that as intricate and complex the permitting or leasing process is, the number of applicants still seems fairly modest, even if those number are growing.
Since I'm on the East Coast, does GreenWave have any ready figures on the number of kelp farming leases per year by states in the Northeast?
I also wonder if current kelp farmers in CT or resources at UConn might have parcels or locations that they have considered, or done some of the initial work on selecting, to possible accelerate the site selection process? Even some general pointers on good prospect areas to start a site search and selection process.
Maybe there are some existing permits or leases that current kelp farmers aren't utilizing fully or could use partners or collaborators to put to work. Anything to lessen the need to reinvent the wheel, especially for those who might be considering a first season.