BBTV-Episode 2: Ocean Approved – Tollef Olson and Paul Dobbins

Seaweed. Farming. Two words you probably wouldn’t associate with each other.

Seaweed. Dinner. Two more words you probably wouldn’t associate with each other.

Meet Tollef Olson and Paul Dobbins of Portland, Maine’s Ocean Approved, the only commercial kelp farm in the United States, farming on underwater acreage leased from Maine’s Department of Marine Resources.

Paul and Tollef were inspired by mega-aquaculture sites in Asia, and a $7-billion global seaweed industry, and started cultivating last year. The kelp is different from other kelp you find in stores because Ocean Approved kelp is sold fresh frozen, not dried. (You can find Ocean Approved in the frozen food sections of a few Whole Foods Markets and other high-end natural food stores in Boston, Los Angeles and here in Portland, ME.) You can use kelp on its own or mix it with coleslaw, regular pasta and other foods. I tried it mixed in with regular pasta and a garlic/olive oil sauce. It was nice, actually. The fresh frozen Ocean Approved kelp tastes somewhat tangy and crunchy and is much less pungent than dried seaweed. It does not taste fishy and is extremely high in vitamins and nutrients.

Last, but not least, the process they are using to farm the kelp can literally help restore the environment. Seaweed doesn’t require arable land, fresh water or fertilizer and therefore produces no runoff or erosion. It cleanses the water of excess nutrients and absorbs carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.

I think their biggest challenge is going to be people’s “ICK” factor. But keep in mind that we – all of us – are already consuming kelp every day. Processed kelp is used in additives that make toothpaste thick, yogurt creamy, beer foamy and skin moisturizers moist, among countless other uses.

Tollef founded Ocean Approved his kelp farm after working as a treasure hunter, commercial fisherman and mussel grower. Paul was general manager of a bio-tech company before he heard Olson pitch kelp at a local supermarket.

Tollef and Paul, the “aqua-farmers”, go to work year-round in Maine in a 41-year-old lobster boat, wearing wet suits and scuba gear. You add to that, it’s healthy, it’s ecologically strong and it tastes good. That’s pretty BOLD in my book.

Fan Ocean Approved on Facebook. (They will have a web cam set up so you can keep track of their water adventures from the warmth and dryness of your own office. When I get that link, I’ll put it up here. )