I am Trey Angera, the Executive Director of the Maine Seaweed Exchange, LLC and a member along with seaweed farming innovator Sarah Redmond of Springtide Seaweed, LLC- the founding member of the Maine Seaweed Exchange.

Fueled by the prospect of big profits, Bren Smith's Greenwave through its processing arm Sea Greens Farms (See, The Day, 4/15/18) has sued the Maine Seaweed Exchange, me and Springtide Seaweed for over $1 million. The complaint seeks damages for the fact Sea Greens failed in its bid to obtain an $800k MTI grant and for lost sales as well as injunctive relief. At the heart of the case is the ability of the Maine Seaweed Exchange to act as an independent industry support organization providing educational programs, advocacy, and industry infrastructure.

Bren Smith of Greenwave, formed Sea Greens Farms along with Korean seaweed snack maker Ocean Halo's c0-founder and venture capitalist Mike Shim, and private equity firm Industry Capital's managing partner Norman Villarina, to profit from the growing seaweed industry. Todd Jagouts, a former employee of seafood collections agency Seafax later joined Smith, Shim, and Villarina.

Greenwave works with Sea Greens to find and train seaweed farmers that in return must sell their crop to Sea Greens. Greenwave also leverages grants to funnel money to its for-profit farm and Sea Greens.  The Maine Seaweed Exchange has indirectly frustrated these efforts by supporting independent farmers and calling attention to Greenwave grants that may harm biodiversity and our local marine ecology solely for profit.

Without resources, we have been unable to fight the legal action of the Greenwave supported Sea Greens. We need your help to fund a defense of these frivolous claims by Sea Greens that are intended to destroy the Maine Seaweed Exchange, personally harm and embarrass me and Springtide Seaweed, and to advance Sea Greens and Greenwave's aspirations of controlling the emerging seaweed industry in the United States.

With your help, we can continue to support local marine communities and families as they enter the seaweed farming business. Will you help us? All funds will go to our legal defense, with any remaining funds going to support scholarships to the MSE Seaweed Farmer Certification Program that is training the next generation of seaweed farmers. Even a small amount will help protect our fledgling industry from the influence of big outside money.

Thank you for your support!