Watch the first California Seaweed Festival now! (Nov. 16-21, 2020)

For years people have come from all over the world to places like SeaWorld or the Monterey Bay Aquarium to see the rich and diverse California sea life. One of California’s crown jewels of the ocean has been seaweed. The giant kelp is the posterchild of a healthy and robust marine ecosystem. However, seaweed is largely ignored despite its critical role in the ecosystem and numerous human uses. Not anymore!

This week the first California Seaweed Festival kicked off! Due to the COVID pandemic, the festival is being held virtually, and for 6 days a number of speakers will talk on various seaweed topics.

Day 1: Seaweed Farming

Day 2: Seaweed as Food

Day3: Seaweed Science

Day 4: Seaweed Art

Day 5: Sustainable Seaweed Innovation

Day 6: Community Involvement & Seaweed Fun

The festival’s mission statement is,

“We want to share the beauty and diversity of seaweeds on our coasts, how seaweeds enrich coastal environments making seawater cleaner and a better habitat for hundreds of other species. We are inspired by all the ways that people use seaweeds, for food, fuel, climate resilience, awe and fun. Many Californians don’t know about the hundreds of kinds of seaweeds that flourish on our coast. So, with help from California Sea Grant, we organized the first California Seaweed Festival in 2020, to celebrate all things seaweed in California! “

You can visit the festival website here

Watch the talks via the festival’s youtube channel here

Seaweeds could, and should, be the future of fuel

Biofuel is any fuel that is derived from biomass—that is, plant or algae material or animal waste. Since such feedstock material can be replenished readily, biofuel is considered to be a source of renewable energy, unlike fossil fuels such as petroleum, coal, and natural gas.

To date, most biofuels are derived from corn and sugar cane because of their low cultivation cost and high polysaccharide content. However, there are a number of problems with these crops as a fuel source. They require vast areas of agricultural land and freshwater, which means they compete with other commercial crops. This is where seaweeds have the potential to change the biofuel environment. Seaweeds are quick growing and have high polysaccharide content, but unlike corn and cane sugar, they require no land or freshwater to grow.

AtSeaNova business manager Adrián Martínez was recently interviewed by E&T (Engineering and Technology) said, “From our point of view, our future lies in seaweed. It needs almost nothing – it doesn’t need fresh water, you don’t need to add fertilizers or extra nutrients into the sea; it really is a sustainable resource for bioenergy.” So if seaweed is so good then where is the seaweed biofuel? Ocean life is rough, and high capital and production prices mean algae costs more per unit mass than most land-based biofuel sources. Meanwhile, businesses have yet to find a cost-effective way to convert seaweed into commercial fuel. This is where research and development are taking place; how to improve the yield of seaweeds on large scales simultaneously lowering the cost of oil extraction.

Ocean Era is developing the ‘Blue Fields’ offshore macroalgae farm, with support from the DoE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E), and is pursuing that all-important problem of how to cost-effectively convert seaweed into a commercial biofuel.

Marine BioEnergy devised a system to tow farms of giant kelp down to deeper waters using unmanned submarine drones. A process that could increase the yield of commercial seaweed harvest.

At the same time as AtSeaNova, Ocean Era and Marine BioEnergy, and many more small-scale seaweed farm developments start to scale activities, other key players are working out how best to monitor and maintain these growing areas of cultivation. Erin Fischell, an assistant scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), points out: “Macroalgae needs to scale up to the point where it’s economically feasible for biofuel, and to do this we are going to have thousands of hectares of farms.”

That may sound like a lot of ocean space, but imagine the amount of land and water saved, not to mention the numerous other byproducts that could be extracted from the seaweeds. For now, we need ingenuity and time for this field of seaweed biofuels to gain speed.

You can read the entire E&T article here

Kampachi Farms LLC sets out to attain off shore permits for offshore seaweed

Kampachi Farms LLC, a company in Hawaii that primarily farms king kampachi is now setting out to farm seaweeds. The company is working to attain the permits for a site more than a mile off Kaiwi Point near Kailua on Hawaii Island. The farm would be about 4,300 square feet and 10 meters below the water’s surface. The farm would produce four endemic species, limu manuea or ogo (Gracilaria parvispora), limu kohu (Asparagopsis taxiformis), limu kala (Sargassum echinocarpum) and sea grapes (Caulerpa lentillifera).

Limu is used as an ingredient in poke, a traditional Hawaiian dish of raw fish. The company aims to produce limu in quantities large enough for animal feed and biofuel applications.

A great way to clean oceans and feed people.

Read more here

seaweeds to combat hypertension

On Tuesday the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) came out with a nutraceutical product, developed from seaweeds, to combat hypertension (high blood pressure).

CadalminTM AHe was developed from seaweeds, commonly available in the Indian coastal waters.

Kajal Chakraborty, the Senior Scientist at the CMFRI who developed the product said, "The extract contains 100 per cent natural marine bioactive ingredients from selected seaweeds by a patented technology, and would be made available in 400 mg capsules. This nutraceutical does not have any side effects as established by detailed preclinical trials. The institute is in the process of developing more health products from the underutilized seaweeds. Efforts are on for standardizing and promoting seaweed farming all along the Indian coasts as a livelihood option for the coastal communities. This is expected to compensate for the dip in income for the fishermen during lean seasons."

Seaweeds have been shown in other studies to reduce hypertension, just as other health foods such as fruits and vegetables. However, the researchers at CMFRI have focused on an underutilized resource that could also have strong positive economic impacts.

CHALLENGES FOR SUSTAINABLE SEAWEED AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT IN EUROPE

A recent report by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) titled Phycomorph European Guidelines for a Sustainable Aquaculture of Seaweeds (PEGASUS), highlights the current state of European seaweed production and pinpoints challenges for the development of this sector in the current European context. It proposes recommendations for short-term and long-term improvements at different levels of the chain.

Although this report is Eurocentric, there are many parallels with the US seaweed industry in terms of regulations, market demand, and current percent production of global production.

The authors believe that seaweed aquaculture can help to address global challenges related to nutrition, health and sustainable circular bio economy. The estimated value of the global seaweed production industry is more than ~ 8B€ (for 30Mt) and is continuing to expand. However, the European production lags behind Asian countries despite its large economy. In response, a multi-nation team of European scientists produced a 200 page report outlining how to promote seaweed aquaculture.

Here is a list of some of the highlighted hurdles and recommendations for building a stronger seaweed economy (image below).

• Challenge: Food preservation to maintain consistent contents and improve organoleptic properties

  • Solution: Set up certification centers

• Challenge: Impacts of post-harvest handling (preservation treatments) on the quality and quality stability of seaweed (nutrient content, organoleptic properties). Stabilization of seaweed biomass

  • Solution: Implement best practice / industrial classification codes developed in collaboration with companies and national / European authorities

• Challenge: Attract consumers

  • Solution: Increase public awareness, create vocabulary to describe the flavor of seaweed

TNC and Encourage Capital report on blue revolution investment

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has changed their tune on aquaculture as of late. Realizing that aquaculture will be needed in attaining food security with an ever growing population, they have shifted their focus on sustainable aquaculture and the blue revolution.

The report titled “Towards a Blue Revolution: Catalyzing Private Investment in Sustainable Aquaculture Production Systems“ goes into great detail to summarize aquaculture markets along with their investment and economic risks and rewards. The authors claimed, “If we can shift production toward the most sustainable forms of aquaculture production, we can not only foster healthier marine ecosystems, but also a stronger global food system. “

When it comes to seaweed

The report says with seaweed aquaculture the risks are low and so is the capital needed, however, the financial gains are high with scaling (Figure below).

• Core Seaweed Investment Thesis

  • Already profitable at smaller project sizes with significant financial upside to scaling

  • Proven production methods with many skilled operators and potential expansion to new species and regions

  • Large and diverse market opportunity for both globally

• Seaweed Impact Thesis (Environmental)

  • Represent the clearest environmental value proposition given they: (a) possess the lowest input requirements of any aquaculture production model, and (b) can provide ecological benefits to surrounding ecosystems in the form of water filtration, nitrogen removal, and habitat provision.

why seaweed hasn't replaced kale yet

A very interesting article in WHYY marketplace called “Is kelp the new kale? It was supposed to be” hits at an interesting point. A few years ago seaweed was being called the next superfood, and bold claims like, “seaweed would become the new kale” were commonplace. But that hasn’t happened yet, why?

Anoushka Concepcion is an assistant extension educator with the Connecticut Sea Grant. She works with seafood producers and researchers and answers questions about the latest technology and trends. In an interview Anoushka said “The idea sort of took off before all the practical challenges can be addressed,” Concepcion said. “Farmers are finding it difficult now just to get rid of their seaweed. They can’t get rid of it.”

Bren Smith, co-founder of GreenWave, says the seaweed business is past the startup phase and now needs to build infrastructure and grow market demand by changing people’s tastes on a larger scale.

We all know it’s good for us, now we just need to start eating it.

"I want kelp on every table in America"

Sarah Redmond, founder of Springtide Seaweed, has a clear vision for the future of seaweed cultivation. Springtide is perusing an additional 20 acre site to accompany their 35 acre site off Stave Island Maine. Redmond claims there is plenty of room for growth when it comes to seaweed cultivation and that it can be done sustainably without competing with other marine activities.

Springtide Seaweed’s products are powders that can be used as culinary seasonings and salt substitutes. Redmond said, “I want kelp on every table in America,” she said. “It is nature’s true healthy salt.”

Read the full article here from BDN Hancock

Kelp farming is therapeutic, introducing the Salt Sisters group

Today we discovered the Salt Sisters, a campaign to help women in recovery connect with themselves and their inner strength through a connection with nature.

Founded by Colleen Francke, the Salt Sisters use kelp farming as a way to recovery and support.

“This project isn’t just about growing kelp, helping the environment, or diversifying out of a troubled industry,” says Francke. “I want to show others, and largely women like myself, who may think that they have nothing or no way out of where they are, that in fact they have every opportunity in the world.”

We can’t support this enough! We salute you, Salt Sisters! Keep up the good work.

Read the full article here from National Fisherman

New report: "Development of Offshore Seaweed Cultivation: food safety, cultivation, ecology and economy"

Offshore of northern Europe, a seaweed farm known as NSF (North Sea Farm). NSF was established in 2014 and is committed to developing a strong and healthy seaweed supply chain, in and from the Netherlands. This farm has been studied in a number of ways to assess ecological and economical impacts.

A recent report was just released evaluating economics, food safety, and ecological impacts of offshore seaweed farming.

Studies like these are extremely valuable to validate ecosystem services provided by seaweed farming, and should be conducted in numerous locations around the USA to be ecosystem specific.

General conclusions from the report below

• high variability in chemical and contaminant composition of kelps, with only one month between sampling moments, was observed. This demonstrates the potential to harvest at the right moment, to provide the processing industry with desired products. However, it simultaneously shows the challenge to provide products with stable biochemical composition.

• economic analysis indicates that relatively low-value markets such as the alginates are within reach for seaweed production in the North Sea, though for the near future a mix of medium- and low-value markets needs to be targeted

• seaweed cultivation can have significant effect on the surrounding ecosystem, including biodiversity enhancement. But site specific information is required for the North Sea to evaluate how this activity relates to for example requirements by marine framework directives, and if farm management can further stimulate the ecosystem services provided by seaweed cultivation (through timing of harvest and/or technical adaptations to become more nature inclusive).

North America's first-ever seaweed-focused restaurant week

Most people know seaweed is a sustainable, nutritious, and versatile food source, but the majority of the public doesn’t know what to do with it in the kitchen.

Josh Rogers, owner of Heritage Seaweed in Portland ME, was well aware of this disconnect and conceived the idea of Seaweed Week as a way to bring the public’s attention to seaweed.

Seaweed Week, is being organized for April 26 through May 4 in Portland to spotlight businesses across greater Portland that champion sea vegetables and challenge others to start innovating with them. It will feature sea greens on menus at eateries, bars, breweries and distilleries.

Visit www.seaweedweek.org for more information.

Seaweed Farmers in Japan are Creating new Varieties to Deal with Climate Change.

Undaria pinnatifida  (wakame) is a seaweed extensively cultivated, and is one of the most valuable edible seaweeds in Japan, Korea, and China. The cultivation season usually starts from autumn and runs through to spring, where the seaweed is grown on long lines suspended in the ocean.

However, the cultivation period has been delayed due to rising temperatures caused by global climate change. This prompted many germlings (juvenile sporophytes) of U. pinnatifida to fall from the strings during nursery cultivation. In response, seaweed farmers are creating new verities of seaweed, similarly to how a traditional land based farmer would cross pollinate varieties of fruits and vegetables. (For more information on the process read this article)

In a recent paper, researches crossed two varieties of U. pinnatifida to create a heat tolerant variety called NW-1. They then grew NW-1 along side with the standard variety HGU-1. The result was more juveniles remained attached to the long line and had more growth/ individual.

As oceans continue to heat, seaweed breading programs could help seaweed biomass and biodiversity loss due to climate change.

The Nature Conservancy is Changing its Tune to Seaweed Aquaculture

The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the worlds largest conservation NGOs, is changing how it sees aquaculture. For many years the organization has sounded alarms about the dangerous impacts of aquaculture to the environment, but recently has been involved in a number of aquaculture partnerships.

TNC has realized the important role of ecosystem services that some aquaculture can provide, specifically seaweed and shellfish. For example, they found that changing from fishing to seaweed farming, not only takes carbon and nitrogen out of the water, but also promoted more fish and lobsters in the surrounding water. TNC has released a promotional video of a seaweed farming success story (posted below).

“This is kind of a paradigm shift in how we’re trying to understand aquaculture, at least in the conservation world,” said Robert Jones, global lead for aquaculture at TNC. “We’re trying to turn this on its head.”

This is a big step in moving the conversation from aquaculture being dangerous to aquaculture being environmentally friendly.

Read a detailed article here from the Global Aquaculture Advocate

Read an article here from TNC “Sustainable Aquaculture: A viable economic alternative to fishing”

The shellfish industry needs a kelping hand in fighting ocean acidification

Ocean acidification is a daunting problem for shellfish farmers. It turns out that when the water becomes more acidic, the organisms aren’t so good at building their shells or reproducing. Oyster farms off the coast of Washington have already started to see the detrimental effects of increasing acidity.

In response, Paul G. Allen awarded $1.5 million to the Puget Sound Restoration Fund to investigate how kelp could help. Kelp and other seaweeds are able to take up CO2 out of the water, and therefore would make a micro climate of less acidic water. The research being led by Dr. Jonathan Davis , is specifically aimed at how kelps could be used around shellfish farms to create a acid buffer.

Davis is so optimistic, he has already began researching how the seaweed can be used as an additional commercial product for shellfish farmers. He is actively exploring kelp uses from food to fuel.

This multi-culture approach is really good idea. First off, these seaweeds would contribute to carbon drawdown, aiding in the removal of CO2 in the oceans. Additional benefits are protecting a farmers shellfish product while also adding a new revenue stream by selling seaweed products.

You can read more about the project here

You can read an article about Dr. Davis here

Shrimp farming is getting a boost from incorporating seaweeds

Aquaculture is beginning to shift from mono-culture to integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA). While IMTA is still relativity a new idea in the industry, nature has been doing it all along and new studies keep illustrating the benefits.

A study just came out this month (Jan 2019) that looked into adding seaweed to shrimp farms. The study added three seaweeds: Gracilaria vermiculophylla, Ulva lactuca,  and Dictyota dichotoma to ponds growing white legged shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei. Then shrimp were infected with V. parahaemolyticus and WSSV to assess disease resistance and response.

The use of macroalgae in co-culture with L. vannamei provided a nutritional benefit that achieved higher growth than the control organisms, as well as improvements of the ammonium concentration and immune response after infection with V. parahaemolyticus and WSSV.

The study concluded that these additional benefits were diet related, however, live seaweeds would change the water properties and testing water quality would be an interesting next step.

This is a good example how a company could change from one product to two while enhancing yield and quality of the original product with very little additional cost.

This research was published in the Journal of Fish & Shellfish Immunology

U.S. seaweed consumption is growing about 7% a year

James E. Griffin, an associate professor at Johnson & Wales University , claims that the U.S. consumption of seaweeds is growing approximately 7% annually. Griffin made this claim at the NRA (National Restaurant Association) show in May 2018. He also stated that the fine-dinning sector is leading the charge, while the U.S. consumer still lags considerably behind Asia and Europe in consumption.

As with other sea food, most of the seaweed in the U.S. is imported from Asia, about 90% said Griffin. This means that the U.S. has a growing market with little local production. Griffin also pointed out that the seaweed source matters, as they can take up heavy metals from the surrounding water. The U.S. has higher restrictions and oversight on water pollution than most countries, and could be well positioned to pivot to producing rather than importing.

Read the article from Nation’s Restaurant News

Chileans are shifting from seaweed gatherers to cultivators

A recent article in Botanica Marina highlights a shift in the seaweed industry. The seaweed industry in Chile has predominately been a process of gathering off the coast, but that’s all changing now. The Chilean government provided subsidies to seaweed farming activities and investments in local valorization of the resources. The subsidies coupled with an increased number of technical studies related to seaweed resources has enabled the industry to pivot to seaweed cultivation.

Seaweed common names: Nori

There are many names for commonly consumed seaweeds. However, the species they refer to vary by region and culture. We will cover some of the most commonly used names for seaweeds, and review the differences between connotation and denotation. This series will review some of the most common common-names in use.

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Nori

Nori is the most recognizable edible seaweed in the world. Almost everyone has eaten, or at least seen, sushi rolled in nori paper. Nori mostly refers to the genus Pyropia even though the literal translation is seaweed.

Nori is the word for the Japanese characters 海苔 or 糊. While both characters are pronounced as nori, the translations are slightly different. The first set 海苔 translates in English as seaweed or laver (laver will be reviewed in a separate post soon), while 糊 translates to paste or glue.

Historically nori was used to describe all edible seaweeds, which were traditionally ground into a paste as early as the 8th century. It wasn’t until the 1700s that Japanese began making nori into thin sheets. These sheets were made using similar techniques as traditional paper making during the Edo period. The sugars within nori act as a glue, as translated, and will adhere to itself when ground and dried.

The sheets of nori we see today are typically from the genus Pyropia. How and when this term for seaweeds became genus specific is unclear, but at some point Edo fishermen realized when they used bamboo stakes to hold their nets Pyropia would grow on them. Fishermen began to add extra stakes to grow more Pyropia and this began the Pyropia cultivation in Japan.

offshore vs. land-based seaweed farms, and why we went land.

Monterey Bay Seaweeds was the first land-based seaweed farm in California, possibly the entire United States, but why did we chose a land-based operation for growing seaweed?

As many of our readers will know, Dr. Graham is a tenured professor at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. The lab has it’s own seawater intake system that it also shares with their neighbor, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI). By entering an equity partnership with the marine lab and San Jose State University, Monterey Bay Seaweeds was able to utilize the existing infrastructure for their aquaria and get to work.

Offshore and land-based seaweed farms differ almost in parallel to large agriculture farms and greenhouses. Offshore seaweed farms are less space limited, and are capable of producing vast quantities. Typically kelps, or other common species, are seeded on long lines and hung in the ocean until the harvest season. Once harvested, the product is typically dried and stored until sale. The seaweed is typically bought in bulk for various uses. Due to seasonal variability, offshore farms are difficult to operate year round. Nutrient availability or fluctuating temperatures can also hinder production. A few bad seasons and your farm might go under.

On the other hand, land-based seaweed farms don’t mass produce due to the high price of space. They can however, produce year round. Land-based farms can also grow species that are harder or impossible to grow on lines. Just like a common greenhouse, everything can be controlled. If the seawater intake starts pulling in water that is nutrient poor or too hot/ cold, the entire system could be switched to artificial seawater. It’s this control that would be critical if climate change continues at the current rate. If the oceans become more acidic or too hot, land-based aquaculture might be the only option.

The added benefit to producing year round, is that the product can be harvested at any time. We can sell our seaweed fresh, any day. Fresh seaweeds give the chefs more options on how to use the product. They can more freely play with the taste, texture, and shape when constructing a dish. If they desire, they can always dry seaweed, but when you re-hydrate it, it’s never the same as it was.

Closing the nutrient loop with seaweed farming.

As discussed in the last post, agriculture runoff is a huge problem. Nutrients are running off the land and into our oceans.Today in a recent article from Scientific America, the idea was batted around to take up ocean nutrients with kelp then turn it into fertilizers. These fertilizers could then be used again on land to replenish the nutrients lost. Not only would this help close the nutrient loop, but also take excess carbon out of the oceans.

This is just another example how seaweeds can help reverse negative anthropogenic impacts to our oceans.