Help Our Kelp Act aims to support kelp forest recovery efforts

Grown on the Pacific Coast from California to Alaska and on the East Coast in parts of New England, kelp has been harvested on a large scale in the United States since World War I, when the vegetation was used as a source of potash to make gunpowder. During that time, the harvest was unregulated and destructive to the surrounding habitats. Nowadays, the harvest of kelp is more sustainable due to harvesters only removing the upper portion of the canopy of the algae.

Today, the primary resource derived from kelp for human use is algin, a product used as a gelling agent in foods, pharmaceuticals, waterproof and fireproofing fabrics, a component in fertilizers, and an ingredient in food. In addition to this array of uses, kelp has been identified as a potential alternative energy source, according to NOAA Fisheries...
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