Farming Seagrasses and Seaweeds: Responsible Restoration and Revenue Generation Congressional Report: Farming Seagrasses and Seaweeds: Responsible Restoration and Revenue Generation

In 2019, the United States Congress charged the Secretary of Agriculture, in coordination with the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to establish a working group to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of U.S. seaweeds and seagrass farming, describing its current state, its potential to drive economic growth through production of livestock feeds and other commercial applications, and improve ocean health through deacidification. USDA partnered with Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences (BLOS), a global research institution located in East Boothbay, Maine, for assistance in collecting public input, providing subject matter expertise, and drafting a report to fulfill the Congressional mandate. Bigelow Laboratory and the 46-member U.S. Government Interagency Working Group (IWG) for the Farming of Seaweeds and Seagrasses gained valuable insight from more than one thousand stakeholders representing communities across the United States and its territories. Through a series of inclusive listening sessions and workshops, purposeful research pilot projects, and one-on-one meetings, the IWG gained much information about the state of the science and the industry from individuals, organizations, and governments. Grant no. NA22OAR4170121