Meet the ocean farmers building a new industry

Seaweed is a healthy and climate-friendly food. It can also be used to replace fossil raw materials in other products. That's why seaweed has started to be cultivated on a larger scale in Sweden. Meet the sea farmers who are now preparing for this year's seaweed premiere.

In Sweden, sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) is most often used as a commercial crop. It grows wild, but can also be grown on ropes in the sea and now at the end of March it is ready to be harvested.

- In March the seaweed is at its prime. We then continue to harvest through April because the sea is still cold and the sugar kelp is at its best. In May, the sea temperature rises and other algae start to grow on the sugar kelp, so we harvest before then," say Cassandra Köbbel and Anna Wångmar, at Ten Island Seafarm.

For a couple of years now, the very first freshly harvested Swedish seaweed has been sold "sista tossdan i mass", which this year is March 31, when the first boxes of seaweed go under the gavel at the Gothenburg Fish Auction.

Read more about #svensktång here

Crop with growth potential

Seaweed contains proteins, minerals, vitamins, omega-3 fats, and short- and long-chain carbohydrates - all of which are beneficial to humans. Today, we mainly eat seaweed in Asian dishes, usually with imported ingredients. The goal of Swedish seaweed farmers is to create locally produced alternatives.

- We want to highlight Swedish, locally grown seaweed and show its fine properties and quality. It tastes of the sea and umami, a mild flavor that does not take over, but becomes a flavor enhancer that enhances other flavors.

One person who has been using seaweed in products such as bread and seaweed crackers for a long time is Ola Dahlman at Bryggudden.

- "Initially, most people were skeptical, but also curious. The reactions are usually "but this is really good..." In the last three or four years, the seaweed has gained significantly more space and there are not as many people who are skeptical anymore, he says.

Click here to read more about the properties of seaweed.

Good for the environment

Seaweed can also be used for non-food purposes. For example, various materials, plastics and fuels produced using biorefining. Research shows that large-scale seaweed cultivation can become a new industry in Sweden and at the same time create great environmental benefits.

Seaweed is grown in the sea and therefore does not compete with other activities on land. The crops also do not need to be watered or fertilized, as the nitrogen and phosphorus already in excess in the waters is sufficient.

- "It feels fantastic to be able to work with a form of aquaculture that is sustainable, cleans the oceans, binds carbon dioxide and produces healthy, tasty food," says Sven Sahlin of Bohus Seaculture, which grows sugar kelp at Gåsö outside Lysekil.

- Seaweed farming also contributes to the emergence of a new industry and creates new jobs in winter when the West Coast needs it most. "It's the food of the future, it's here and we don't need to import it," say Cassandra Köbbel and Anna Wångmar.

Pioneering work

Despite all the benefits of seaweed for both humans and the environment, markets and value chains still need to be developed before seaweed is established as a food in Sweden. There is also still a lot of research to be done on the properties and uses of seaweed.

- Seaweed is a new food in Sweden and it is a pioneering work to develop products that Swedish consumers demand. This is work that we are doing together with the food industry. It is also a challenge to obtain permits for cultivation facilities because there are many interests to be taken into account on the West Coast," says Sven Sahlin from Bohus Seaculture.

Although the major producers today are in Asia, Swedish seaweed producers are confident that there is room for more, not least in light of the increasing demands for traceability and proven sustainable production methods. The cold and nutrient-rich waters of the North Sea provide good conditions for growing seaweed with high quality and scalability, says the CEO of Nordic Seafarm, Simon Johansson.

- Harnessing the potential of the sea and utilizing seaweed as a raw material will play a major role in the transition towards more sustainable food production. We have just raised new capital that will allow us to expand our offshore cultivation capacity from the current 30 tons to over 300 tons per year.