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).

Seaweeds can facilitate symbiotic microbes in agriculture

Modern agriculture is a marvel of the 21st century. Crop production has surpassed our expectations, many times over, in the last 100 years. However, this production has come with a cost. What is now being called our nitrogen addiction, refers to the amount of fertilizers used on farmland. The traditional soaking of soil is inefficient and leads to runoff: where nutrients are leaked into other surrounding ecosystems or the waterways.

Doesn’t sound so bad, what the problem with extra nutrients in the water? Well, the added nutrients cause boom bust cycles of other plants and algae that can tip the balance of an ecosystem. Currently there are numerous microalgae blooms off the coast of the USA, all are said to be a factor of agriculture runoff. This has caused an outcry for more responsible farming practices in reducing their nutrient loading.

One group in the UK has started using algae extracts and microbes to help crop efficiency. They claim that the seaweed extract facilitates microbes that help crops take up more water and nutrients, and therefore can reduce the amount of farm input by 20%. By reducing the amount of water and fertilizer used, the runoff will be far less than without the seaweed’s help. This could end up being a key strategy for responsible farming practices.