Seaweed Cultivation Manual: Shetland Seaweed Growers Project 2014-16

Abstract:

The Shetland Seaweed Growers Project

Project Funding and Objectives

The Shetland Seaweed Growers project was funded by the Coastal Communities Fund and undertaken at the NAFC Marine Centre in Scalloway, Shetland from June 2014 to December 2016. The project explored whether growing seaweed on a commercial scale is a feasible option within Shetland, in order to create jobs, generate income for the community and present new business opportunities for Shetland companies. Other aims of Shetland Seaweed Growers included supporting local businesses to incorporate seaweed in their products and to increase public awareness of seaweeds, their ecology and their uses.

Partners and Industry Associates

Scottish Sea Farms Ltd. was a commercial partner in the project and generously provided a six hectare licensed sea-site for growing seaweed at Sandsound South in Shetland. They also provided use of a work-boat, skipper and crew to help set up the necessary longlines; seadeploy the hatchery-grown seedlings, and harvest and sample the resulting seaweed crop. East Voe Shellfish Ltd. were industry associates of the project who were contracted to carry out the same tasks listed above on a second seaweed sea-site at Lea of Trondra, Shetland that is owned by the NAFC Marine Centre. Grieg Seafoods Ltd. kindly donated some drying/smoking racks to the project to allow the NAFC Marine Centre to dry bulk quantities of seaweed.

Seaweed Uses

Seaweed is used by many maritime communities in a variety of ways from simple food sources and fertilisers to more complex products such as gels, medicines, cosmetics and alginates.

Seaweed has been a food source for thousands of years, forming a staple part of the diet in countries like Japan, Korea and China. Particularly important seaweeds to the Japanese market belong to the Porphyra, Laminaria, Saccharina and Undaria genera. In European countries, seaweed has often been used as an alternative food source during hard times while Welsh ‘laver’ (Porphyra umbilicalis) and ‘dulse’ (Palmaria palmata), are considered delicacies by many.
Historically, kelp was burned on a massive scale (including in Orkney and Shetland) to produce ‘potash’ (potassium salts) for fertilizer. This practice has now been replaced by world-wide mining of potash ores.
Alginates are extracted from brown seaweed and used to create gels for foams, stabilisers, emulsifiers and industrial gums. They are also used by the cosmetic and health industries for body wraps, facial masks, soaps, shampoo and conditioners, make-up gels/creams, indigestion remedies, encapsulating particles and absorbent wound-dressings, along with a range of other products.
Liquid seaweed extracts from brown seaweeds are used as mineral and vitamin supplements in agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry and, more recently, in human health products.
Agar is made from certain red seaweeds. In addition to being used in food production, it is universally used in laboratories as a substrate for bacteria cultures. There is currently no satisfactory substitute for laboratory agar.
Carrageenans are also extracted from red seaweed and are widely used in the food industry, for their gelling, thickening, and stabilizing properties. Their main application is in dairy and meat products, due to their strong binding to food proteins.
More recently the anti-bacterial and anti-cancer properties of seaweed derivatives such as fucoidan and laminarin are being investigated by the pharmaceutical and medical professions.
There are numerous edible species that grow around the British Isles, including Shetland. Brown seaweeds are the most abundant, with kelps and fucoids such as Laminaria digitata, Alaria esculenta, Fucus spiralis, Fucus vesiculosus and Ascophyllum nodosum. Dulse and Irish moss are edible red seaweeds that are widely harvested in Ireland.

Shetland Businesses Currently Making Use of Seaweed:

The Shetland Seaweed Growers project encouraged local businesses to diversify by incorporating seaweed grown by the project team into some of their products and/or undergoing training in sustainable harvesting of wild seaweed. Examples of participating companies include:

Artisan Island Cheese, Hoofields, Lerwick. (Caroline Henderson).

https://food.list.co.uk/place/57672-artisan-island-cheese/

Mirrie Dancers Chocolatier, Lerwick (David Williams)

http://www.shetland.org/60n/blogs/posts/mirrie-dancers-chocolatier-launch ).

Orkney Soap, Kirkwall.

http://www.cope.ltd.uk/enterprises/orkney-soap

Saxa Vord Restaurant, Unst. (Steve Carter)

http://www.saxavord.com/food-and-drink.php

Shetlandeli, Bixter (Jill Franklin)

http://www.shetlandeli.com/

Shetland Distillery Company, Unst (Stuart Nickersen)

http://www.shetlandreel.com/