Can you source seaweed from British Columbia? What is published, and what is not
Naser Arda · Seaweed Economy
A product maker who wants to buy seaweed from British Columbia starts with a simple question: who can sell me kelp, in what form, and when? I looked for a published answer to that question this autumn. There is no single place that gives it. As such, we have rebuilt the Sourcing page on Seaweed Economy to bring together what has been published, and to say plainly what has not.
What is published
GreenWave's State of the Kelp Industry report (February 2026) gives the clearest public picture of BC farming. It counts 20 ocean tenures licensed for kelp in BC as of August 2025, covering about 441 hectares. Many of these sites are permitted for both shellfish and seaweed. The report also notes that a significant share of BC kelp sites are held or run by First Nations.
Licensing is provincial. The Province of British Columbia licenses both the wild harvest of aquatic plants and seaweed farming, under the Fish and Seafood Licensing Regulation. Wild harvesters apply for a licence each year.
What is not published
Three facts a buyer needs are missing from the public record. First, how much seaweed BC farms harvest. GreenWave states that too few BC farms report their data to estimate it. Second, the price a BC farmer or harvester is paid. The nearest published figures are what farms in Alaska and Maine were paid, and BC shop prices. Third, a public list of BC seaweed farms. The federal list of BC aquaculture licence holders, published by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, shows no seaweed farms at all, and the provincial page on aquatic plant harvesting does not list licence holders.
Why this matters for a buyer
The same GreenWave report explains why sourcing is hard even when a farm can be found. Most buyers want dried or otherwise stable kelp, and few farms in the US and Canada hold stock in those forms. About 80 percent of kelp farms in the two countries work alone, from seed to sale. The only cooperative pooling farmed kelp in North America is in Alaska. In practice, this means a buyer often has to agree the form with a supplier before the harvest, and a large order may need several farms.
What the Sourcing page offers
The page brings these facts together, each with its source. It lists the BC organisations in our directory that say they farm, wild harvest or process seaweed, with what their own websites say they grow or sell. Seven were listed at launch. It also sets out who licenses what, the questions to ask a supplier before the season, and where to look outside BC.
It also offers a way to ask. A buyer can tell us the species, the form, the volume and the timing. We then ask the farms, harvesters and processors we know, in confidence, and introduce the two sides by email only when both agree. There is no fee, and we take no cut.
If you farm or harvest seaweed in BC and are not on the list, or if you are looking for supply, I would like to hear from you.
Sources