Through a commons-informed approach, Seaweed Commons seeks to form ecological seaweed coalitions, support and inform public discourse, increase algal literacy, and advocate for an appropriately scaled, just seaweed economy.
We are a network of seaweed advocates, harvesters, coastal citizens, and students of the intertidal. We maintain this website as a public learning place, keep a database of stakeholders and algae lovers around the world, archive information about marine algae, and take on various projects. Based in Downeast Maine, we welcome collaborators near and far.
This work brings us into intimate contact with the under-sea world, the ebb of the shore, the health of others in our algae community. We—as farmers, as eaters, as urban pier wanderers—have a role to play as citizen scientists and organizers. Across the Pacific and Atlantic, our conversations together allow us to learn about the traditional and emerging governance practices for stewarding this aquatic commons.
Our love of edible seaweeds brings us together to defend the commons and articulate a path forward as a community grounded in biology and thoughtful stewardship practices.
As seaweed becomes an increasingly valuable resource for a wide variety of culinary, industrial, and cosmetic applications, its role in the public trust and the marine environment are emergent and subject to industrial exploitation.
Blog
This is an informational website created in spring 2019 by amateur seaweed researchers with backgrounds in conservation and sustainable agriculture. It is a broad field, and evolving quickly. We hope this site will function as a tool for self-education, and help readers begin to discern what kind of seaweed economy to engage with in the Gulf of Maine and beyond.