It is possible to grow kelp at certain shallow water sites—farmers in New York State are doing so in as little as a foot of water at low tide—but this requires a slightly different gear setup and specific bottom conditions. Read more about this shallow-water design here.
Lesson 4
Environmental Suitability
Back to: Site Evaluation
Site Depth
There is a range of site depths that will work for farming kelp. The closer your crop comes to the bottom of the seafloor, the more likely it is to experience biofouling. And due to considerations of anchor scope, a deeper site will have a larger footprint, and consequently a larger gear and startup cost. In general, you’ll want to select a site that has enough depth at Mean Low Water (MLW) to keep your crop suspended at all tides. We typically recommend a minimum site depth of 15-40 feet at MLW.
