Later this summer we are expecting an unusual to arrive at Bideford Quay. Unusual because it is a harvest from the sea that hasn’t been landed here previously. But if this first production is a success, then it will only be the start. What is it? 

Seaweed, grown in Bideford Bay. This first harvest is an initial, small contribution from North Devon to an international market valued at billions of pounds.

Algapelago Marine Limited are running the Bideford Bay seaweed farm and have the ambition to become the largest primary producer of sustainably grown seaweed in Europe. 

The farm, about four miles offshore, is made up of a series of submerged 220m ropes anchored to the sea floor. The ropes are marked by yellow buoys and 300 litre floats which carry the submerged backbone with the cultivation ropes lying between two and eight metres below the surface. 

The brown seaweed is ‘seeded’ onto fine filaments in the laboratory. These are then wound around the growing ropes, suspended in the sea and left to grow. The waters around the UK are ideal for brown seaweed production, warm and with good light for quick growth. Several metres of long brown fronds are produced in just months. At harvest time the growing lines are lifted, the seaweed stripped off, removing as much water as possible before the crop is landed. The seaweed is then sent for processing to extract the alginate – a long chain sugar which gives seaweed its structure.

Why does that matter? You don’t see seaweed in the supermarket. Well, you might be surprised at the everyday uses for alginate in a large range of consumer products including foods and cosmetics. It is added to soups and pasta, helps form the head on your beer and the texture of ice cream. It is also used in cosmetics like lipstick, medical products like antacid tablets and specialist wound dressings for diabetic wounds. 

And recent research has shown that adding seaweed to feedstuff for cattle can help reduce methane, a consequence of their digestion process. Agriculture is one of the largest contributors worldwide of this important greenhouse gas. 

Despite the natural advantages for growing seaweed around the UK the market for seaweed supply is dominated by south east Asian countries. So, let’s hope for a super, salty, bumper seaweed crop and a seaweed harvest festival to celebrate Bideford’s new seaweed farm. 

MT