Company Name: Atlantic Sea Farms
Location: Biddeford, Maine
Year Founded: 2018
Website: atlanticseafarms.com
Atlantic Sea Farms, a regenerative seaweed farming company in Biddeford, Maine, has earned its place as the 2024 CO—100 Top Honoree in The Disruptors category.
Founded by CEO Briana Warner in 2018, Atlantic Sea Farms has helped shape an entirely new seaweed farming industry in the United States. It was the first commercial seaweed farm in the country and is now responsible for the majority of domestic seaweed farming.
As a mission-driven, woman-run company, Atlantic Sea Farms is breaking barriers, leading the new market, and reshaping the future of food production.
Building a new industry from the ground (or sea) up
Before Atlantic Sea Farms, large-scale seaweed farming in North America was nearly non-existent. When the company started, only about 30,000 pounds of kelp were farmed in the entire country that year. Thanks to the innovative leadership of Warner and her team, that number has skyrocketed to 1.3 million pounds farmed by fishermen in 2024.
“We have grown this industry by working with fishermen who are seeing increased volatility in their heritage livelihoods as a result of rapidly warming waters,” said Warner. “By focusing on aggregating small, family farms to create a scaled industry, we have ensured that the growth of this entirely new industry puts small farmers and the environment first.”
Atlantic Sea Farms is fully vertically integrated, meaning the company produces kelp seeds in-house and distributes them to fishermen free of charge. These partner farmers in the Gulf of Maine grow the kelp in open ocean environments, and Atlantic Sea Farms guarantees that it will buy back all harvested seaweed.
“We are working with fishermen to diversify their incomes in the face of climate change as their fisheries become increasingly volatile and vulnerable,” explained Warner.
It wasn’t an easy road to scale Atlantic Sea Farms’ nursery, manufacturing, farming, and market demand all at the same time.
“Vertical integration is not for the faint of heart,” said Warner. “Being the first mover in each of these segments has been an incredible amount of trial and error, but we have learned so much through the process.”
Being the first mover in each of these segments has been an incredible amount of trial and error, but we have learned so much through the process.
Briana Warner, Founder and CEO, Atlantic Sea Farms
A disruptor with a mission
Atlantic Sea Farms’ success goes beyond simple innovation — it is rooted in a commitment to environmental and economic sustainability. Ocean kelp farming offers an environmentally restorative method of food production, requiring no arable land, freshwater, or pesticides.
“We are removing carbon and nitrogen from the water column and making the ocean more healthy than before the kelp was farmed,” Warner explained.
The company’s mission doesn’t stop at improving the environment: Atlantic Sea Farms is actively disrupting a seafood industry dominated by male leadership. Warner said less than 1% of all C-suite positions in the seafood industry are held by women, but Atlantic Sea Farms is challenging that status quo.
“Since we are creating the farmed seaweed industry in the U.S., there isn't a glass ceiling,” she said. “We get to build an entirely new industry without limits for women — and that is exciting.”
Warner said she hopes that women starting in aquaculture in the U.S. can see themselves in some of the female leaders who are taking charge of innovative aquaculture businesses across the country, thereby changing the way people think about the industry.
“By getting the seafood sector to more of a gender balance, we can challenge the conventional wisdom that has gotten us to a breaking point on the ocean,” she added. “Let’s restore ocean abundance by bringing new thinking to the table.”
Pioneering technology and creating lasting impact
Atlantic Sea Farms’ achievements are inextricably linked to its use of cutting-edge technology. The company’s seed production and manufacturing processes are the only ones of their kind in the Western Hemisphere. This pioneering approach to seaweed farming has not only allowed the industry to scale but has also fostered an entirely new market for nutrient-dense, climate-positive food products in the U.S.
“Before ASF, people didn't know how to farm seaweed at scale in the U.S.,” she said. “We were able to learn from places like Korea about how to farm seaweed in U.S. waters. Then we adapted those learnings to the back of lobster boats to catalyze a new industry that could help fishers along our coast diversify in the face of dramatic climate change.”
Thanks to Atlantic Sea Farms, lobster boats have become the “kelp tractors of the sea” in Maine. The company has also developed ways to grow seeds in its state-of-the-art seaweed nursery.
“[This] has allowed us to get strong yields and consistent product, in addition to creating first of its kind seaweed processing machinery in our manufacturing facility,” Warner explained.
Warner and her team continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in food production, all while staying committed to their mission of supporting fishing communities, adapting to climate change, promoting inclusivity, and improving the planet.
“We are proud to be building an entirely new industry and proving that good food can do good by leading the charge,” said Warner.
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Spotlight On
Atlantic Sea Farms
Atlantic Sea Farms is a mission-driven, woman-run company pioneering the regenerative seaweed farming industry in the United States by working with fishermen to diversify their incomes and combat climate change as their traditional fisheries face increasing volatility. Through their vertically integrated model, they produce kelp seeds, provide them to partner farmers, and transform harvested kelp into value-added food products, all while promoting sustainable practices that improve ocean health and offer nutrient-dense food to American consumers.