Should NH repeal the ban on collecting seaweed at night?

If lawmakers get their way, 2026 could spell the end for one of New Hampshire’s oldest and quirkiest laws: the ban on collecting seaweed at night. This year, legislators will consider HB 1094, the latest attempt to scrub this odd prohibition from state statute. But why was it put there in the first place, and why have lawmakers repeatedly chosen to keep it in place over the years?

The answer will take us on a surprisingly deep dive into New Hampshire’s legislative and colonial history.

Is this New Hampshire’s “dumbest law”?

This is not the first time that legislators have tried to legalize late night seaweed gathering. The issue gained prominence over a decade ago when a group of Newport middle schoolers, tasked with finding New Hampshire's "dumbest law," unearthed RSA 207:48. 

RSA 207:48 states: "If any person shall carry away or collect for the purpose of carrying away any seaweed or rockweed from the seashore below high-water mark, between daylight in the evening and daylight in the morning, he shall be guilty of a violation." 

That sparked repeal efforts in 2016 and 2018 to dismantle it.

However, despite the seeming absurdity of the law, both of those previous attempts HB 1376 (2018) and HB 1383 (2016)—failed. In fact, they were defeated unanimously in committee.

Why gather seaweed, anyway? A brief history of "sea manure"

In colonial New England, settlers used seaweed as a food source, often adding it to soups, stews, and stuffings. More importantly, though, it was prized as "sea manure"—a nutrient-rich fertilizer that nourished crops and gardens.

If you look up this statute in current New Hampshire law, it says it was enacted in 1973. Which is confusing, since large scale agricultural harvesting of seaweed died out in New Hampshire around 1945 as modern fertilizers replaced seaweed.

But that “enacted date” is misleading. In 1973, New Hampshire completed a massive modernization of its criminal code that began in 1967. As part of this cleanup, legislators took hundreds of old laws—some dating back to the 1700s and 1800s—and gave them new numbers and standardized penalties (classifying them as "violations" or "misdemeanors," etc.).

For example, in this 1842edition of New Hampshire’s statutes, you can read an earlier version of the nighttime seaweed harvesting (Chapter 123: Section 2).

This wasn’t just a matter of state law, either. According to Peter Evans Randall's history, Hampton: A Century of Town and Beach, 1888-1988, the town of Hampton passed an ordinance as early as 1757 banning night-time seaweed collection. As he explains, competition for this valuable crop fertilizer could be fierce. Families had special wagons for collecting seaweed which they drove right up to the water. They then raked the seaweed into piles, with each pile belonging to whoever got to it first. Prohibiting nighttime collection was likely an effort to establish some equitable ground rules.

From colonial property lines to modern conservation

Remember the text of New Hampshire’s seaweed law: “If any person shall carry away or collect…any seaweed or rockweed from the seashore below high-water mark…” There’s a long legal history behind that last phrase. Early 1600s English Common Law used the tidal high-water mark to distinguish land that could be held as private property from that belonging to the Crown and held for public benefit.

In modern times, however, legislators have found another angle to this phrase related to conservation.

“With words such as ‘below high-water mark’ and ‘harvest’ it is clear the law covers live plants…With only 18 miles of shoreline, New Hampshire could quickly be depleted of this natural resource by unregulated activity,” said Rep. Jonathan Manley in a 2016 committee report on HB 1383.

Likewise, during the 2018 debate, Rep. Chuck Grassie reported that, according to hearing testimony, “the collection of seaweed at night is used as a cover for other poaching and illicit activities. Also, the excessive taking of seaweed can have adverse effects on wildlife and aquaculture.”

Burying a “zombie law” is harder than it sounds

House Bill 1094 (2026), introduced by Rep. Joseph Barton, represents the latest effort to repeal the ban on harvesting seaweed at night. He and his co-sponsors see the current law as an unnecessary and outdated regulation. Some would argue this is an example of a “zombie law,” one of many obscure, outdated measures hidden within New Hampshire’s statutes. But as we have seen with this issue and many others like it, taking an 18^th century prohibition off the books is easier said than done.

What do you think?

Will this be the year that New Hampshire axes its centuries-old nighttime seaweed collection ban? Or is the law still useful, even if for a different purpose than it was originally enacted? Either way, you have an opportunity to make your voice heard. 

The House Fish and Game and Marine Resources Committee will hold a public hearing on HB 1094 on Wednesday, January 28, at 10:45 a.m. in room 153 of the Granite Place complex.

Lastly, if you want to try your hand at seaweed foraging—during the daytime, of course check out this resource from the University of New Hampshire.