Harvest season is in full swing

For some (most) growers, spring farming is now starting with sowing, but in the marine sector, it is already harvest season. In Grebbestad, Sweden, Nordic Seafarm is harvesting sustainable and nutritious seaweed.

Sweden’s largest seaweed farm outside Grebbestad at 29 Ha, with a current cultivation of 8 Ha is ready for harvest. Seaweed with a protein content of 22 percent is harvested efficiently and brought ashore in minutes for processing, it doesn’t get fresher than that.

What is being harvested now in April is Sea Lettuce. Sea Lettuce is a light green, leafy algae valued for its high nutritional content, edible thin sheets and versatility in both culinary and environmental applications.
Other algae are;
Sugar Kelp – a brown algae that is rich in vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates, making it a valuable resource for food, agriculture and sustainable materials.
Kelp – a brown algae valued for its rich alginate content used in food, pharmaceuticals and industrial applications.

Algae has multiple uses

Food – Feed
Seaweed can be a versatile ingredient in food with its unique flavors, textures and nutritional benefits. Whether fresh, dried or powdered, seaweed offers endless culinary possibilities. Seaweed is rich in protein, which can be extracted and constitutes a domestically sustainably produced input for the food and feed industries.
Biomaterials
Seaweed is rich in natural polymers such as alginate and carrageenan and can be converted into sustainable materials for packaging, furniture, textiles and medical applications. By replacing traditional plastics and synthetic materials, seaweed-based biomaterials offer an environmentally friendly solution that reduces dependence on fossil fuels and contributes to a circular economy.
Seaweed is therefore a valuable resource in the development of biomaterials due to its abundant availability, renewability and biodegradable properties.

Sustainable and innovative algae products – Bridging the gap to a circular economy

If you want to know more, Eurofish has an ongoing EU project ”AlgaeProBANOS” that addresses challenges and opportunities, bridging the gap to a circular economy in micro- and macro algae production.