SOUTHAMPTON, NY — A women-led group, the Shinnecock Kelp Farmers, is looking to the future and expanding its hatchery in Southampton with the goal of restoring water quality and other benefits.
The multi-generational group of women, the first indigenously owned and operated kelp farm on the East Coast, was recently awarded $75,000 by the Nature Conservancy to sequester carbon and reduce nitrogen pollution in Shinnecock Bay.
“Harnessing knowledge derived from a more than 10,000-year relationship with the sea and kelp, Shinnecock Kelp Farmers intends to expand the hatchery so that kelp can be cultivated for its many ecologically restorative benefits of water quality, habitat and climate,” the team said.
Ultimately, the plan is to sustainably harvest the algae at scale to provide an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional fertilizers, they added.
For thousands of years, the team said, the Shinnecock people relied on water for sustenance.
“As real estate development and population growth rapidly increased in the area around Shinnecock Bay, water quality and biodiversity declined,” Shinnecock Kelp Farmers explained.
Studies by The Nature Conservancy and its partners found that nitrogen pollution from aging septic systems and fertilizer runoff was at the root of the decline, they added.
Feeling the need to shift responsibility for protecting the water with which their traditions are intertwined, the Shinnecock Kelp Farmers began work on their kelp farm hatchery in 2020 to revive Shinnecock Bay, they said.
By developing a Native-led business model from “seeds to sales,” Shinnecock Kelp Farmers also hopes to create and sustain green jobs that empower the Shinnecock tribal community, help restore marine habitat, and improve the quality of of water in Shinnecock Bay and beyond. they added.
During the first season, scallops, clams, seahorses and other species that experienced a sharp decline in Shinnecock Bay were seen exploring and sheltering in their kelp lines, those involved noted.
The team shared their findings at conferences in Alaska and, most recently, at the Washington Algal Knowledge Symposium. They are currently working with GreenWave, the Sisters of Saint Joseph, and researchers at the School of Marine & Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University to study how to transport and filter water from the bay to support and scale his project hatchery in a sustainable manner. they said.
“For years, it was predicted that by 2050, our reservation would be underwater due to sea level rise caused by climate change. That timeline has since been moved to 2040. There are urgent problems and they can no longer be ignored,” said Tela Troge, director of Shinnecock Kelp Farmers. “When we combine traditional ecological knowledge with cutting-edge science, we see leaps and bounds in what we can do. We are grateful for this support and partnership with the Nature Conservancy and it is a promising start for what needs to be done given the time we have to do it.”
“We are honored to support and learn from the innovative work of the Shinnecock Kelp Farmers,” said Bill Ulfelder, executive director of the Nature Conservancy in New York. “It is important to recognize and address the past injustices inflicted on indigenous peoples. When we support and promote Indigenous-led conservation efforts like Shinnecock Kelp Farmers, we help reduce pollution, improve water quality, and promote the health and resilience of all nature, including humanity.”
The benefits of farmed and wild kelp are manifold, all agree. Kelp improves local water quality over time by absorbing nitrogen, which currently finds its way into Long Island waters through runoff from conventional fertilizers and polluting septic systems. Kelp can also help restore biodiversity in local ecosystems by providing habitat for wildlife, shielding coastlines from the full force of storms to help reduce erosion, and moderating the effects of ocean acidification locally. Shinnecock Kelp Farmers explained.
Support was provided through the Nature Conservancy's New York Common Ground Fund, which was established to catalyze and enable new and existing conservation work in New York that promotes justice, equity and land sovereignty, the Nature Conservancy said.
