Long Island kelp feasibility study project harvests first crop

In New York state, the first sugar kelp grown as part of a Cornell extension service research project in the Peconic Estuary was harvested last week as part of a Suffolk County-funded feasibility study to determine if Long Island could develop a viable kelp industry. The estuary suffers from high levels of nitrogen, which is ideal for growing some kelp species, so could be a win-win for the area. The cold-water species is usually planted in November and harvested in May but weather delayed that process until December last year.