Introduction
At the 26th North Atlantic Aquaculture Conference (NACE‑26), Kelson co‑founder Toby Dewhurst posed a deceptively simple question: “How much does it really cost to grow food in the ocean?” Drawing on years of hydrodynamic modelling, engineering design and techno‑economic analysis, Toby showed how integrated tools can help farmers and developers answer this question and cut costs.
This article summarises the highlights from his talk. We outline the engineering insights that motivated Kelson’s cost‑mapping tools, summarise recent techno‑economic analyses, and share a first look at the hydrodynamic exposure calculator. We also map farm costs across Alaska and the Gulf of Maine using state‑of‑the‑art hindcast and growth models. Scroll down for figures, watch the full video and follow links to the referenced papers and the exposure calculator.
Engineering meets aquaculture
When oyster farmer Carter Newell asked Kelson to help design a submersible raft, our engineers discovered that off-the-shelf engineering tools grossly over-predicted the loads on ropes and anchors. Through experiments in wave tanks and field sites we learned that integrating biology and engineering unlocks huge potential for aquaculture.
• Integrating biology, innovation and engineering unlocks huge potential for aquaculture.
• Off-the-shelf engineering tools often over-predict loads and costs.
