A new study warns that expanding kelp farming is not automatically sustainable. Although it is often promoted as a climate solution, large or poorly planned farms may damage seafloor habitats, alter wild kelp genetics, compete for nutrients, and struggle as ocean temperatures rise. The authors call for climate-adaptive management, ecological safeguards, and Indigenous and coastal leadership.
Read the study: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-026-00203-3