Blue Dot Sea Farms

What Blue Dot Sea Farms does

Blue Dot Sea Farms is a privately held aquaculture operator running a 5-acre integrated shellfish and seaweed farm off Hood Head, in the northern part of Hood Canal, Puget Sound, Washington. The farm uses zero-input methods (no feed or fertilizer) to co-cultivate oysters and sugar kelp, generating environmental co-benefits such as water quality enhancement, habitat creation for salmonids, and removal of carbon and nitrogen from coastal waters. The company operates under a Washington Department of Natural Resources lease and a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit that have been in place for many years.

The company's commercial products are Indigo Oysters, a proprietary oyster variety marketed exclusively to fine restaurants through affiliate partner Baywater Shellfish Company, and Seacharrones, a branded line of organic, vegan, gluten-free kelp snacks sold direct-to-consumer via Seacharrones.com. Sugar kelp is also supplied to research collaborators. Go-to-market is therefore hybrid: B2B wholesale via a single distributor for oysters and DTC e-commerce for snacks. The company also supports research with the University of Washington, NOAA, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Puget Sound Restoration Fund, the Composites Recycling Technology Center (recycled carbon fiber marine cable), Washington Sea Grant, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, with grant funding from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, US DOE ARPA-E, the National Sea Grant Program, USDA NIFA, and the US Navy.

The business is run by three principals - Joth Davis, Ph.D. (30+ years in sea farming, founder of Baywater Shellfish in 1990, UW Ph.D.), Michael Rosenthal (former commercial crab fisherman and Island Fitness co-founder), and Jon Kroman (sustainability-focused business lawyer and former E8 cleantech angel) - supported by a three-person farm crew. Ownership appears to be founder-controlled with no disclosed institutional investors, parent company, or external funding rounds; capital structure relies on founder equity plus research grants.

Name

Blue Dot Sea Farms

Legal name

Blue Dot Sea Farms

Website

https://bluedotseafarms.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Blue Dot Sea Farms operates a 5-acre shellfish and seaweed farm on Hood Canal, Washington, selling Indigo Oysters to fine restaurants via Baywater Shellfish and Seacharrones kelp snacks directly to consumers online.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aquaculture / Sustainable Seafood

NAICS

Shellfish Farming (112512), Aquaculture (11251), Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging (3117)

SIC

Prepared Fresh Or Frozen Fish & Seafoods (2092), Canned, Frozen & Preservd Fruit, Veg & Food Specialties (2030)

akta.pro primary industry

Marine Shellfish Farming (e.g., oysters, mussels, clams) (AFAEAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Aquaculture Processing & On-Farm Value-Add (primary handling, icing, packing) (AFAEAAAN)

Keywords

• Shellfish aquaculture
• Seaweed farming
• Kelp snacks
• Sustainable seafood
• Oyster cultivation

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Shellfish Sales: Sale of Indigo Oysters to fine restaurants through exclusive marketing partner Baywater Shellfish Company
2. Seaweed/Kelp Product Sales: Sale of kelp products including Seacharrones (kelp snacks) directly to consumers via online ordering; also supplying kelp to researchers and food developers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Blue Dot Sea Farms operates a 5-acre integrated shellfish and seaweed farm off Hood Head, Washington, in northern Hood Canal, producing a unique Indigo oyster variety sold exclusively to fine restaurants via affiliate partner Baywater Shellfish Company. The farm also grows sugar kelp used in its Seacharrones branded consumer snack line (direct-to-consumer online sales) and supplied to research institutions for ocean acidification, soil amendment, and carbon-uptake studies. Operations use zero inputs for feed or fertilizer, with shellfish and seaweed co-cultivated to enhance water quality and create marine habitat.

Product overview

Blue Dot Sea Farms operates a single integrated aquaculture operation that grows shellfish and seaweed together on a 5-acre farm. The primary products include Indigo Oysters (marketed to fine restaurants via Baywater Shellfish Company) and Seacharrones kelp snacks (sold directly to consumers). The farm also produces sugar kelp for various research applications. All operations use zero inputs for feed or fertilizer, with shellfish and seaweed grown symbiotically to enhance water quality and create habitat.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Seacharrones: Kelp snacks product line made by Blue Dot Sea Farms.

Products and services

• Indigo Oysters Unique oyster variety cultivated at Blue Dot Sea Farms' 5-acre farm off Hood Head, Washington, marketed exclusively to fine restaurants through Baywater Shellfish Company.
• Seacharrones Kelp Snacks Puffy, crispy, crunchy kelp snacks available in three flavors, made with regenerative, nutrient-rich kelp grown by independent U.S. sea farmers; 100% organic, vegan, and gluten-free, sold direct-to-consumer online.
• Sugar Kelp for Research Nutrient-rich sugar kelp cultivated at the farm and supplied to research institutions for ocean acidification mitigation studies, organic soil amendments, fish feed research, and potential conversion to ethanol/hydrocarbons.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1 ton of carbon removed per harvest along with nitrogen that contributes to harmful algal blooms
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Baywater Shellfish CompanycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorClose friends and affiliate farm that markets Blue Dot's unique 'Indigo' oysters exclusively to fine restaurants. Founded by Joth Davis in 1990, now managed by his son Caleb and Dylan Gangness.
• Composites Recycling Technology CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for development and testing of marine cable made from recycled carbon fiber (rCF) for seaweed cultivation. rCF comes from waste streams in wind turbine and aircraft manufacturing.
• Puget Sound Restoration FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-led a four-year project funded by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation to assess effects of growing sugar kelp on pH, dissolved inorganic carbon and carbonate chemistry in seawater.
• University of WashingtoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner on multiple projects including ocean acidification studies and kelp soil amendment research. Joth Davis completed Ph.D. studies at UW.
• NOAAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating on land-based research on carbon uptake by kelp at NOAA's Manchester Research Station. Also partner in ocean acidification and seaweed farming training projects.
• Washington Department of Natural ResourcescoreOthersOperates under a lease with Washington DNR that has been in place for many years. Partner in research projects on ocean acidification.
• Washington Sea GrantcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in multiple research projects including seaweed farming training for veterans and national seaweed hub development.
• US NavyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting research collaboration with NOAA scientists on carbon uptake by kelp.
• Pacific Northwest National LaboratoryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating in a two-year US Department of Energy ARPA-E project to model bioextraction of nitrogen and other nutrients in farmed sugar kelp.
• Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in project team led by Woods Hole to explore economic implications of social license for marine agronomy.
• Marine Agronomics / Dr. Tom MumfordminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating with Dr. Tom Mumford to advance research on developing positive social license for marine agronomy in the Salish Sea.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Hama Hama Oyster Company: Multi-generation family-run shellfish farm in Hood Canal, WA, marketing sustainably raised oysters to restaurants and wholesale distributors; geographically coincident with Blue Dot's Hood Canal site and directly comparable on product and premium-restaurant positioning.
• Atlantic Sea Farms: Maine-based kelp farming company that grows sugar kelp in partnership with local fishermen and sells value-added kelp products to foodservice and consumer channels; the closest U.S. peer to Blue Dot's seaweed cultivation and value-added kelp snack business.
• GimMe Snacks: California-based brand offering organic seaweed snacks (nori sheets, chips) into natural-food retail and foodservice; directly comparable CPG positioning to Seacharrones' organic-vegan-gluten-free snack branding.
• Ocean's Halo: Cupertino-based brand selling seaweed snacks (chips, wraps, nori sheets) into mainstream retail and DTC channels; competes head-to-head with Seacharrones in the consumer seaweed-snack category.
• Baywater Shellfish Company: Washington-based shellfish farm marketing premium oysters (including Blue Dot's Indigo variety) exclusively to fine restaurants via direct ordering; nearly identical product, channel, and customer overlap to Blue Dot's primary revenue line.
• Hog Island Oyster Co. Boutique Tomales Bay, CA shellfish farm that grows, distributes, and serves sustainably farmed oysters to fine restaurants and at retail/farmstand channels; directly comparable to Blue Dot's shellfish-only focus on premium oyster sales and farm-to-table hospitality. Blue Dot farm-crew member Chris Brown is a former employee.

Emerging players

• Wide Open Sea: Canadian startup developing automated seaweed farming technology, including rope-handling equipment; adjacent overlap with Blue Dot's kelp cultivation and emerging scalability of seaweed operations.

Regional players

• Bullwheel Seaweed: Washington-state kelp farm on the Olympic Peninsula growing sugar kelp for food and soil-amendment markets with research partnerships; near-peer as another small PNW kelp cultivator with sustainability positioning.
• Cascadia Seaweed: British Columbia-based kelp and seaweed grower operating in the same Salish Sea / Pacific Northwest waters as Blue Dot; directly comparable on sugar kelp cultivation and bioextraction research, with a primary Canadian operating footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Taylor Shellfish Farms: Largest multi-generational shellfish producer in the Pacific Northwest, raising clams, oysters, mussels, and geoduck across multiple sites with restaurant, retail, and export distribution; comparable category but operates at vastly greater scale as a broad incumbent.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blue-dot-sea-farms

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Blue Dot Sea Farms