From Manhattan to the Connecticut Coast: A New Chapter in Kelp Farming
Suzie Flores transitioned from a career in Manhattan to cultivating sugar kelp off Connecticut's coast, aiming to introduce Americans to seaweed as a sustainable food source.
On a February morning, while much of coastal New England braces against cold weather, Flores often ventures onto the water. She ensures the sea is calm, ice-free on her boat, and that GPS buoys remain in place before heading out.
Departing from the marina in Stonington, Connecticut—one of the state's last commercial fishing ports—she harvests sugar kelp, a seaweed variety, from the Atlantic Ocean.
In February, the kelp appears as thin fronds that will grow into metre-long blades by spring. Flores measures, photographs, and occasionally collects water samples for marine scientists before returning to shore.
A Career Shift Driven by Purpose and Family
A decade prior, Flores held an English degree and worked at an academic publishing firm in Manhattan, commuting from Jersey City. Now, she operates the Stonington Kelp Company from a marina she and her husband purchased and reside on, harvesting a crop still relatively unknown in the US, requiring years of effort to encourage consumption.
Her husband, Jay, a former combat photographer in Iraq and Afghanistan, returned home unsettled and retrained as an engineer. Around the same time, Flores had three children in rapid succession and began reevaluating her life.
"What, she wondered, would she want them to say about her at her funeral? The answer was not market research for higher education software."
The family relocated north, acquired a dilapidated marina on the Connecticut–Rhode Island border, and Flores pursued environmental science studies. She contacted Charlie Yarish, a University of Connecticut biologist known for pioneering US seaweed farming.
"He replied the same day and pointed her to GreenWave, a non-profit helping new farmers navigate permits."
"I have like my newborn baby strapped to my chest when we're having these phone calls," she says, "trying to figure out if all of this could work."
She felt the timing was perfect.
"She felt the stars were aligning '1000%'. There was one problem - the market didn't materialise."
Creating Demand for Sugar Kelp
Upon harvesting her first crop, Flores faced the challenge of having thousands of pounds of seaweed with no buyers.
"Had Jay and I known about that element of work," she says, "I don't know if we would have gone into it."
She took initiative by cold-calling farm-to-table restaurants, educating chefs on sugar kelp's mild, briny flavor. Contrary to assumptions of rubberiness—common with Pacific kelp like Japanese kombu—East Coast sugar kelp is delicate.
This approach succeeded. Her farm now sells out every season, supplying upscale kitchens where chefs value its versatility and local character.
Chef David Standridge Embraces Local Kelp
David Standridge, chef at The Shipwright's Daughter in Mystic, Connecticut—a 2026 James Beard finalist for Outstanding Chef of the Year—is among those who use Flores’ kelp.
For Standridge, the appeal is partly seasonal: in New England, kelp is the first fresh "vegetable" of the year, arriving weeks before terrestrial greens, providing a local, green ingredient when little else grows.
"It's just crunchy and light and salty and briny," says Standridge. "It doesn't carry a lot of difficult flavours to pair. It kind of goes with a lot of things."
More subtly, kelp embodies the character of its growing waters—a quality akin to terroir in wine or merroir in oysters.
"There's a lot of dishes where you might not taste the kelp," he says, "but it'll just taste more like the ocean."
Challenges Facing US Seaweed Farming
Flores’ experience highlights broader industry challenges. The US imports over 90% of its seaweed, mainly from Asia, where cultivation has centuries of tradition. North American production is a small fraction of global supply, and although farms have increased steadily, infrastructure has lagged.
The current obstacles extend beyond cultivation to processing, distribution, and generating sufficient demand to sustain farmers at scale.
On the water, risks are immediate. This winter brought storms with 70 mph winds and deep freezes that locked surface gear in ice while underwater currents tore lines apart. Flores estimates a 40–50% crop loss, in addition to the 30% loss farmers now expect.
Despite this, she sold out due to reduced supply and plans to prepare for such winters in the future.
Environmental Benefits and Community Impact
The environmental advantages of kelp farming motivate Flores. Sugar kelp absorbs nitrogen pollution, enhancing water quality and providing habitat for marine life. Blue mussels have colonized her lines, fish gather beneath them, and seabirds frequent the area.
For Flores, the work also addresses onshore community changes.
"Stonington's fleet is ageing, and the lobster industry that once defined this coastline has largely collapsed. 'That fishery never came back,' she says."
Her vision is a network of small family farms, similar to the gradual growth of oyster aquaculture along New England's coast. Kelp can be grown off-season by fishermen with existing boats and gear, requiring relatively low startup costs.
"It hasn't grown at a massively rapid rate," she says of her business. "But it's always growth. We're always going in the right direction."
Education and Future Generations
Flores also teaches at Yale University, the University of Massachusetts Boston, and local schools, incorporating seaweed into culinary programs. She notes that younger students are initially skeptical but often enjoy kelp when integrated into familiar dishes like macaroni and cheese.
Her three children have grown up immersed in this lifestyle, with farm life and boat lunches as normal parts of their routine. Flores hopes to provide them with options to pursue meaningful work.
"There is nothing worse," she says, "than not listening to yourself about what brings you joy."
She learned this lesson in a Manhattan office and wishes her children to avoid that dissatisfaction.
"Kelp is the lobster roll of the future," she says, then stops. "The lobster roll is gone. In large part because of us."
On Long Island Sound, the water remains. Flores hopes seaweed farming can foster a sustainable future for both the ocean and the coastal communities.
