Globally,. Information on potential future harvesting activity that may be undertaken, in addition to current activity, has been provided by industry. The species at the center of Scotland's kelp controversy is Laminaria hyperborea. Traditionally, harvesters encircle a chosen cutting area with a rope or net and will then cut within this area. Table 5: Classification of commercial wild harvesting methods. For an overall understanding of the basic requirements for the cultivation of any type of seaweed, read Santelices (1999). However, there are a few species that are specially adapted to live on exposed shores so its always worth a look there. Restrictions also apply in some conservation sites, such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest ( SSSIs), and a Habitats Regulations Appraisal ( HRA) would need to be undertaken for any harvesting activities that have the potential to affect designated or proposed European/Ramsar sites and associated features. Kelp grows in "underwater forests" (kelp forests) in shallow oceans, and is thought to have appeared in the Miocene, 5 to 23 million years ago. Brown and up to 15cm long, with fronds that curve inwards to create a channel. Seaweed in Scotland: A brief history - ishga US Smaller areas of wracks are also located along the southeast coast of Scotland. We check out six common varieties of seaweed and their food applications. Some species of giant kelp can grow by as much as 30 to 60cm vertically per day. Intertidal. 3.15.4. Below the low water mark, increasing depth results in a very rapid decrease in light intensity so that sublittoral (subtidal) species are restricted to a depth range near the surface, known as the photic zone, where light is sufficient for growth. There is considerable diversity in form and life-style amongst seaweeds (Wilkinson, 2001 and 2002). The extent and impact of each pressure from a given activity will vary according to its intensity or frequency. The distribution of this group is likely to have been highly underestimated as it is a less conspicuous intertidal species that does not regularly form a dominant feature/biotope in the available spatial data layers. Commercial wild seaweed harvesting is having a revival in Scotland. Seaweed, or marine plants and algae, are plant-like organisms that grow in the ocean, rivers, lakes and other water bodies. This odd-looking seaweed which is about the size and more or less the shape of a tennis ball is not a native species. 3.2. Olga Mironova/Getty, Choose your welcome treat! the infralittoral zone). Progress of this review is reported here. The use of seaweed dates back centuries and as an incredibly diverse algae, it lends itself to a variety of purposes. The marine licensing regime - provided under section 21(1) (item 6) of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 - may regulate the removal of seaweed in those cases where a vehicle, vessel, aircraft, marine structure or floating container is used to remove the seaweed from the seabed. The term seaweed is the collective name for a number of different groups of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae (macroalgae). In addition to reducing the environmental impact of intensive fish aquaculture, IMTA systems add value to the investment in finfish aquaculture by increasing the yield of total biomass produced on a single site (Barrington, Chopin & Robinson, 2009). Seaweeds and seagrasses have a role in supporting food webs which contribute to fish and shellfish productivity, as well as several ecosystem services that have both direct and indirect benefits for human beings ( CCEES & ABPmer, 2010), in particular: 3.16.3. Here are 10 to look out for. It also associates all pressures that might be exerted by a defined list of activities at a particular benchmark. for both enthusiast and professional naturalists and wildlife conservationists. How to identify British seashells | BBC Countryfile Magazine In Scotland, L. hyperborea is harvested at present for small scale applications. Hand and mechanical using modified boat with cutter. Sugar kelp is often farmed at sea and is used in cosmetics and animal feeds. Peters tells me that, This stamp is really important to us because of the levels we go to to be sustainable., In 2015 SHORE started an Environmental Impact Assessment which Peter explains: We have four locations on our sites around Caithness where we carry out research on the community of plants and animals on the shore around the seaweed. Revealed at low spring tides. This will allow for the best targeted Environmental Assessment to be undertaken, reducing both likelihood of unnecessary assessments being conducted by the applicant and the risk of future challenge to licensing decisions. The result of all that cooking is a sticky, brown paste known as laver bread, which people either love or hate. This species can be confused with Harpoon weed. In some areas, harvest is during a narrow window in early summer, after plants have put on reasonable growth but before breaking waves shred the thin leaves. 3.8. Small scale projects would be 'screened out' of such requirements, if appropriate, following consultation. Mechanical cutting of egg or knotted wrack takes place in Lewis and Harris. Fife; Loch Sunart (Salen to Glenmore Bay); Ardnamurchan; Bute. Grows up to five metres in length. Distribution: Occurs in a wide range of intertidal habitats including rockpools and on sand or mud. Thought to be in the region of 2,100 wet tonnes (2018) but projected to have increased significantly, Caithness (east of Thurso and south towards Wick), Total quota is thousands wet tonnes per annum (based on 20% total shore biomass). However, this activity is not spread evenly throughout Scotland and is concentrated in the Outer Hebrides, where around 13,600 tonnes are harvested. 3.15.3. Edible; used as a curry-like spice. 3.6.1. Only two harvesters were able to respond to queries within the timescale of this SEA and therefore this information is not comprehensive. Little information is available about the extent or volumes of such gathering. Peter explains the thinking behind this addition to their business: There are some species we have good amounts of in Caithness but because they are on the low shore, there are only so many days a year that we can harvest. He continues, We plan our harvesting around the tides we have really good tides in March and April and then again in September and October. Usually harvested in late spring and summer, from boats or by hand at low spring tides. Three of the original team are still with us and their combined 13 years of experience of seaweed harvesting makes them the core of our crew. 21 November 2018. . Harvesting takes place all year. Forms beds in mid-zone of rocky shores. There are some beds in the Outer Hebrides, including Loch Maddy and Loch Bi, and in Islay. Seaweed Farming Scotland Limited is an aquaculture business cultivating native Scottish seaweed species. Potential scale of Scottish seaweed-based industries: research paper Once considered an incomprehensible habit of the Celtic fringe, eating seaweed has now become very fashionable in Britain, if not exactly mainstream. We've created this photograph ID guide to make it a bit easier. Olive to purple-brown in colour and up to two metres in length. Seaweeds, or marine macroalgae, are plant-like organisms that live in coastal areas, usually attached to rocks or other substrates. 3.7.1. FeAST is a developing tool. Some mechanical cutting of egg or knotted wrack (Ascophyllum nodosum) takes place and may be increasing. The existing legislative and policy context for the licensing of wild harvesting activities is set out in Figure 11. reading for all who are involved in land management for nature conservation, More than 50% of the UK coastline is situated in Scotland under legislative jurisdiction; therefore, there is a great opportunity for regionally focused economic development by the rational use of sustainable marine bio-sources. In some naturally disturbed habitats, e.g. This species prefers the mid-shore and you might spot red seaweed species attached to it. Maerl is found along the west coast of Scotland, in the Western Isles, Orkney, Shetland and the north coast, but is absent from the east coast (Figure 2). There are many shores of intermediate exposure with some features of both diagrams, depending on the exposure of the shore.. Its a rather boorish seaweed, fast-growing under normal conditions; its growth becomes overwhelming when the sea is polluted with nitrogen and phosphorous compounds. Table 1: Locations of seaweed harvesting activity and approximate amount removed by Scottish Marine Region (SMR). Its fronds form massive fingers that are attached to a flat palm, that, in turn, is attached to an arm with frilled edges. 3.15.2. Removal using a vessel for operational reasons, Firth of Lorn; Argyll islands including Luing and the Garvellachs, Unspecified small amount (range: tens of kilos), Up to 11,500 wet tonnes per annum on CES foreshore, Additional tonnage on private, community land unknown. experience. Carrageen ( Chondrus crispus) The black kites on Figure 5 indicate the vertical range of occurrence of each species; the width of the kite indicates approximate abundance at any height or depth. Most seaweeds have special applications in the kitchen and you cant simply boil them up. Intertidal. Thongweed has long, narrow straps with no air bladders and grows in large clumps. For example, some grow from the base and some grow from the tips, so we harvest them in different ways to allow them to grow back. This species is soft to touch and has large, obvious curved hooks. No evidence of current seagrass harvesting in Scottish waters has been found [11] . Just like their terrestrial counterparts, many types of seaweed are healthy, low-calorie food sources. Pelvetia canaliculata and F. spiralis are absent. Distribution: Grows in dense beds in the lower intertidal and shallow subtidal zones (at a depth of up to 20m). Stratification in Response to Exposure. The relevant environmental protection objectives, at the international, European or national level [12] , are summarised below and described in Appendix B . Today seaweed continues to be used in a variety of products. 7 Types of Seaweed and 4 Seaweed Recipes Written by MasterClass Last updated: Sep 30, 2021 5 min read Vegetables from the garden are part of everyday diets, but the ocean also has its share of edible offerings. That is because it can bring land-originated pollution onto the shore. A brown kelp with a frilled stem and large bulbous holdfast that attaches to rocks. High protein content - almost as high as legumes. Common on exposed coastlines. Thongweed is edible. We can see from the data that there is no change in diversity of the surrounding community where we are harvesting when comparing it to the natural site. An important ingredient in miso soup is something called kombu. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Report reveals the 70 million potential of Scotland's seaweed farming Spatial coverage is also provided in Table 3. The largest seagrass beds are found in Cromarty Firth, Moray Firth and Dornoch Firth (Figure 3). Here are 12 for you to spot and identify. Seaweed pudding, anyone? Small, red or brown, fern-shaped seaweed of sheltered rocky coves. Non-native species are those that wouldnt normally be found in the UK. There is a lot of noise about how wonderful seaweed is but it is quite an alien and forgotten food. It is of critical importance for regulating climate by controlling cloud formation and most of it comes from seaweeds. Intertidal. Indeed, seaweed is a natural superfood that is packed with minerals. There are established markets for several cultivable seaweeds: for example, alginates from kelps which are used in pharmaceutical products and dulse which makes a high-end food supplement. Figure b: Saw wrack and oarweed on lower shore NatureScot. Below the low water mark, increasing depth results in a very rapid decrease in light intensity so that sublittoral (subtidal) species are restricted to a depth range near the surface, known as the photic zone, where light is sufficient for growth. At each of the four locations we have two corridors close to each other that are very similar, and that we have been surveying for years. A Guide to Irish Seaweeds | Cork Nature Network What Is Edible Seaweed? 3.13.6. Its appropriately tasteless, but the slime puts people off a bit. Individual cutters handle their own cutting areas and rotate the areas cut to ensure sustainability, A mechanical seaweed harvester may also be used. Harvested by hand at low tide. For centuries, seaweeds have been harvested for food several of the dozen species pictured here are edible (and delicious). 3.15.5. Air bladders help seaweeds float so they can reach the sunlight and photosynthesize at the ocean surface. The shells are oval or pear-shaped, up to 11cm across. The major abiotic factors influencing seaweed and seagrass growth are light, temperature, salinity, water motion, wave exposure, nutrient availability and exposure to air (desiccation) (Lobban & Harrison, 1994; Smale et al., 2016). Light harvesting working around the coast throughout the year. These are used in foods, textiles and pharmaceuticals. In terms of biomass, the majority of Ascophyllum nodosum around the Outer Hebrides is primarily located around Lewis, North Uist and South Uist and Harris (Burrows et al., 2010). Kelps are large brown algae or seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales.There are about 30 different genera. Found in upper zone of rocky shores. This long, brown seaweed has a distinct central midrib and wavy, wrinkled fronds. Lots of ocean species, like seaweeds, struggle to grow in these conditions. Current Regulation of Wild Harvesting. Seaweeds require enough light to photosynthesise, so are most abundant in the intertidal, or littoral, zone especially along rocky shores, which offer plenty of secure attachment points. Keep your eyes peeled for the key ID features and take lots of pictures when you submit your survey. However, as part of The Scottish Governments wider seaweed review, research is underway focusing on understanding the potential scale and type of seaweed-based industries that may be established in Scotland. So if you spot any aliens, report your finds to the Big Seaweed Search to help biologists track their spread. At the end of 2018, SHORE became the first seaweed company in Scotland to put a farm at sea. On Monday, the chain became the first major supermarket to stock fresh, edible seaweed, selling 80g punnets of tagliatelle-like sea spaghetti, harvested on the Cornish coast, for 2. The main species harvested in biomass terms is egg or knotted wrack. Figure 5: Generalised littoral and sublittoral zonation of wracks and kelps on an exposed shore (adapted from Hiscock (1979)). It is really important that people eat healthy and that they understand and appreciate the story of where their food comes from. A simple guide to the seaweed of Britain - Country Life Registered company limited by guarantee in England and Wales 02550966. Currently, with seaweed harvesting and cultivation mostly occurring as small scale activities in Scotland, no information is available on its economic contribution. At Sandy Bay in south Devon, some years ago, I discovered that its mile of very wide sandy beach had disappeared completely beneath an 8in layer of this seaweed. Exposed at low tide. Beach-cast seaweeds (mainly kelps) and (potentially) seagrasses may occur on the shoreline in drift lines, as a result of wave action during storms. Juvenile plants are avoided. Begin rolling slowly. Overall, the wild seaweed harvesting industry is small-scale, harvesting a range of brown (wracks or kelp), red and green seaweeds. There is also some commercial use of seaweeds - mainly egg wrack ( Ascophyllum nodosum) - as organic fertilisers. Appendix D: Protected Sites Supporting Sensitive Features, http://www.gov.scot/Topics/marine/Licensing, increased depth penetration of kelps, going from less clear inshore waters to very clear open oceanic waters, and. (for Clean and safe, Healthy and biologically diverse assessments), (for Clean and safe, Healthy and biologically diverse and Productive assessments), The Scottish Marine Regions (SMRs; S1 S11) and the Scottish Offshore Marine Regions (OMRs, O1 O10). 6 Most Common Varieties Of Edible Seaweed - MICHELIN Guide An almost identical species, Pyropia yezoensis, is cultivated in the Far East in the millions of tons. Here are 10 types of seaweed you should know. How to identify seaweed | BBC Wildlife Magazine - Discover Wildlife In other countries, it is harvested by specially designed seaweed trawlers that use a dredge. Amid the flotsam and jetsam on our beaches lies a rich abundance of brown, green and red seaweeds which can be put to good culinary and cosmetic use. There are also objectives to increase ecosystem resilience and adaptation to climate change as well as to recognise the importance of ecosystem services in this regard. What to look for when buying seaweed Seaweed can be foraged, with a plentiful supply on the UK's coastline. We have been doing this for five years now and we are demonstrating that this is viable.. It is picked by hand at low water. Commercial extraction of maerl does not currently take place in Scotland [9] ( SNH, 2015b). This vessel works close to the shore and cuts the seaweed as the stalks float above the seabed. across the British Isles. Sources: Hebridean Seaweed Company website; Just Seaweed website; McHugh (2003); Seaweed Industry Association website; The Crown Estate. It is exactly this type of thinking and planning that will continue to take our food system in the Highlands in the direction that it needs to go, in order to be sustainable for people and the planet. Chorda filum, the bootlace weed, is a narrow but long string-like kelp restricted to this situation. Figure 1: Seaweed resource areas from 2016 Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of wild seaweed harvesting. Figure 2: Available spatial information on the distribution of kelps, maerl, wracks and green seaweeds, Figure 3: Available spatial information on the distribution of potential areas for kelps, and the distribution of red seaweeds, seagrasses and beach-cast seaweeds or seagrasses. Forms a dense carpet in pools on rocky shores. Seagrass has been used in the past, for example, as a material to thatch roofs, to stuff mattresses and for bandages (Reynolds, no date). Scissors or a small knife can be used to cut the blade from the holdfast. Intertidal. Current and Future Harvesting Activity. This photographic guide aims to demystify seaweed identification for the non-specialist. Wireweed has long, stringy fronds covered in hundreds of tiny round air bladders. The known (recorded) and potential distribution of each of the broad groups of seaweeds and seagrasses in Scottish waters has been mapped ( Figure 2 and Figure 3 [7] ). This is shown in Table 7 and Figure 9. 3.8.3. France and Spain for sea vegetables; France and Portugal in the bioactives sector), however some Scottish products have already penetrated global markets and the Scottish sector could potentially benefit from promotion of Scottish seaweed Flashes of iridescent blue from the tiny clustered bubbles of oxygen that collect on the seaweed fronds sometimes outshine those sombre colours. One food production company doing just that is SHORE, the Scottish Seaweed Company, based on the north-east coast of the Scottish Highlands. The many browns, greens and reds of the seaweeds are naturally arranged for greatest artistic effect and currents and small waves dramatically change the view every few seconds as the fronds slip over one another and the light changes. 3.14.13. Intertidal. I collect about 65lb every year. The Irish Atlantic coast has more diverse seaweed species compared to the Irish sea due to a number of factors making the area more suitable . Figure a: Ascophyllum underwater NatureScot. Table 4: Target seaweed and seagrass species for harvesting. However, it is possible that increased sea temperature could be a threat to Zostera beds as it will result in an increase in respiration and decrease in photosynthesis (Wilkinson & Wood, 2003). The wracks are almost entirely intertidal, while the kelps dominate the subtidal, forming the kelp forest, but also extend into the lowest intertidal just above the low water mark. However, projections estimate this figure could increase substantially by 2040. Seaweeds also have plant-like cell walls. 3.13.3. Meet the seaweeds. shores abraded by coarse sand in strong wave action, they may be naturally abundant. Although a delight to even the casual eye, Corallina officinalis requires close attention for its more subtle beauty to be seen. Beach-cast seaweed is 'gathered' from the shore in many of Scotland's island communities, for use as a soil conditioner or fertiliser. 3.12. This brown seaweed has paired air bladders (which look like bubbles). Some smaller patches of red seaweeds are also found on the north and east coasts of Scotland (Figure 3). 3.13.2. Identifying seaweeds on the shore can be difficult. Also known as: Toothed wrack or saw wrack. Harvesting of each species would be annual as each species grows rapidly each year. Copy available, Harvesting takes place all year round and the cutting is carried out either manually using a knife/sickle or mechanically using a seaweed harvesting boat. In contrast, late successional or climax species are generally complex in form, may be larger, may have a life-span running into years, with specific reproductive seasons. ID notes: Oarweed has dark brown-green fronds that are up to two metres in length and split into long finger-like blades. Found below low-tide mark. These objectives set targets for greenhouse gas ( GHG) emissions at the international and national levels. Community Growing Coordinator 3.13.4. Sheltered shores tend to provide a better location for many species, as most cannot survive the battering of the waves in more exposed locations. Mastocarpus stellatus and Chondrus crispus), the channel wrack ( Pelvetia canaliculata), dulse ( Palmaria palmata), pepper dulse ( Osmundea spp.) Although this species is also known as sea spaghetti, I prefer thongweed because it brings those sea nymphs to mind. The renewable energy industry is interested in using seaweed in biofuel production.