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.

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What makes the red abalone red?

The red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) obtained it’s name by the red coloring on it’s shell. If you look closely you can see bands of red and greenish-brown. Well you know the old saying, “you are what you eat.” It turns out that the abalone shell directly reflects what kind of algae it consumes. For that very reason the red abalone requires a diet rich in red seaweeds (Rhodophyta), otherwise the shell looks green and is harder to sell on the market as a red abalone.

Monterey Bay Seaweeds supplies red seaweed (ogo and dulse) for our friends at the Monterey Abalone Company. The seaweed is a special treat for the little molluscs, ensuring they are red, healthy, and delicious.

Here is a recent blurb from Justin Cogley, a local chef who uses our seaweed and abalone from the Monterey Abalone Company. You can visit his website at http://www.chefjustincogley.com/ for culinary news and recipes.