Seaweed Industry in Europe

In the past, storm cast* seaweed was gathered on foot and without mechanization or any equipment. Since the beginning of the 17th century, the commercial use of seaweed, for commercial purposes, such as in the production of glass, encouraged local populations to regulate the activity by establishing rules. For example in France, the first national text, regulating seaweed harvesting, is an ordinance of 1681 which fixed the harvesting seasons of kelp and the number of authorized harvesting days. The use of seaweed for iodine production and later for alginate prompted improvements in harvesting techniques, in order to meet the increasing industrial demand industry for the raw material. Equipment to cut seaweed and boats to carry the algae ashore were first used early in the twentieth century. In 1970, harvesting of Laminaria digitata and Laminaria hyperborea was mechanized in France and Norway. In Europe, the main exploited algae species are Laminaria hyperborea, Laminaria digitata and Ascophyllum nodosum. These species, and especially kelp forests, are considered among the most ecologically dynamic and biologically diverse habitats on the planet. Other species are found on the European Atlantic coast but few of them currently have a commercial value. European scientists have mainly focused their research mainly on kelp which is considered a Keystone Species and whose presence affects the survival and abundance of many other species in the ecosystem. Nowadays, the preservation of kelp forests is placed at the center of environmental concerns and some countries have decided to protect these habitats by restricting the use of mechanical harvesting or by creating protected areas around them. Within this context, mechanical kelp harvesting and seaweed gathering by foot, generate much discussion between scientists, fishers, processing industries and environmental non-gouvernemental organisations. Kelp harvesting is blamed for harming the ecosystem because of the damage it can cause to substrates and to the habitats of certain fish. For some scientists the removal of the kelp species provokes negative effects on the invertebrate species that live in the holdfast, the stipe or fronds or under the fronds. In countries where Laminaria spp is harvested with mechanical equipment, scientists appear to be concerned with the equipment’s impact on the species and also on the surrounding ecosystem. This document presents the main characteristics of the seaweed industry in Europe, illustrated by examples from six European countries (Norway, France, Ireland, Spain, United Kingdom and Portugal). The aim is to have an overview of the European seaweed industry from the six baseline reports prepared by the partners of this project, from literature sources and information gathered during semi-structured interviews of different stakeholders. This document briefly presents the history of seaweed harvesting activity in Europe, the current production and the techniques used in the different countries. The different regulatory systems for the resource and coastal access are detailed followed by the management of the resource and finally the management of the human beings focusing on the social dimension of the activity. The diverse uses of the seaweed resource are outlined.

*material deposited on the shore after storms