Clayoquot Green Economic Opportunities Project
SECTOR ANALYSIS
SEAWEED CULTIVATION AND HARVEST
Overall assessment of potential
This is a relatively new industry. Since it requires very limited capital investment and there are minimal technology requirements, it should be accessible to community members interested in a small business opportunity.
At this time the regulatory framework for the industry is not yet clear and markets are not well developed. Hence the seaweed business requires entrepreneurs who are prepared to be diligent in working with government to secure tenure access (the application process needs to be streamlined) and who are willing to spend time developing new markets and products.
The seaweed industry, or more appropriately a series of linked small businesses that utilize seaweed resources as their foundation, has good potential for the West Coast of Vancouver Island.
It would be beneficial to view the development of a new local seaweed industry quite strategically. A coordinated approach would aim to maximize individual business opportunity, minimize impacts on the resource and develop a planned approach to the market. An interrelationship between businesses could be developed for instance where one or two businesses focus on bulk harvest; one or two on using the dried bi-product; one or two on species designated for the spa treatment market and one or two on food species.
A helter-skelter approach to development of this industry at the local level could soon exhaust both the resource and the market without bringing significant benefit to the region.
Overview: Current status and trends in the industry
Seaweeds are marine algae, saltwater dwelling, simple organisms that fall into the rather outdated general category of "plants". Most of them are red (6000 species), brown (2000 species) or green (1200 species), and are generally attached to rocks or the sea bottom by hold-fasts, which have an anchorage function. Scientists generally call them "benthic marine algae", which means "attached algae that live in the sea".
Seaweeds are found throughout the world's oceans and seas and none is known to be poisonous. On the West Coast on Vancouver Island, over 90% of our seaweed resources consist of three brown species, Laminaria Stechelli, Macrocystis integrifolia and Nereocystis leutkeana. These are almost identical to the traditional Asian products, Kombu and Wakame. Stocks of red seaweed are not extensive.
Seaweeds are used in many maritime countries as a source of food, for industrial applications and as a
fertilizer. Asia is the major consumer of seaweed as a food source. It has been a staple item of diet in Japan and China since prehistoric times. In 600 BC, Sze Teu wrote in China, "Some algae are a delicacy fit for the most honoured guests, even for the King himself." Some 21 species are used in everyday cookery in Japan, six of them since the 8th century. Seaweed accounts for some 10% of the Japanese diet and seaweed consumption reached an average of 3.5 kg per household in 1973, a 20% increase in 10 years (Indergaard 1983).
In the west, seaweed is largely regarded as a health food and, although there has been an upsurge of interest in seaweed as a source of food in the last 20 years, it is unlikely that seaweed consumption here will ever be more than a fraction of the Japanese.
First Nations have traditionally used seaweed for a variety of purposes. Bull Kelp was used for fishing lines, ropes and the storage of oil and fat; giant kelp as the basis of the spawn-on-kelp fishery; floats dried and exploded in the fire as firecrackers; and as a medicine for boys destined to be whalers.
Industrial uses of seaweed are, at present, largely confined to extraction for phycocolloids and, to a much lesser extent, certain fine biochemicals. Fermentation and pyrolysis are not carried out on an industrial scale at present but are possible options for the 21st century.
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Seaweed cultivation takes many forms but there is a kind of evolutionary process through which it develops, driven by market requirements. If demand is low and natural resources adequate, cultivation is unnecessary and demand can be met by wild harvest.
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As demand increases, natural populations frequently become inadequate and supply is supplemented by resource management techniques including adding artificial habitats, seeding cleared areas and essentially 'farming' the various species. A considerable amount of technology has gone into the development of reliable methods for the cultivation of seed stocks and their improvement.
The penultimate development in seaweed cultivation may be the growing of plants in artificial impoundment on land. This involves the use of either tanks or ponds into which seawater is pumped and the seaweeds are grown detached and at very high densities. Not all species of seaweed are viable in these types of artificial environments. In some instances, 'polyculture' systems that combine the cultivation of seaweed with fishery production have been attempted with some success.
In 1997, the North American market for edible seaweeds was worth $30.6 million. At the present time there are seven companies in North America producing dried seaweed. There are also a few producers who, as wild-crafters, carry small amounts of kelp and other seaweeds with their line of wild mushrooms and herbs. As of 2001, there were only two producers in Canada developing kelp for homeopathic pharmaceuticals, one experimental farm producing sea urchin feed and four small experimental sites producing kelp for the herring-roe-on-kelp-market.
There are two seaweed businesses currently operating in the Alberni-Clayoquot Region. Pacific Sun Kelp in Port Alice was started in 2001. The company's owner/operater Mr. MacDonald holds both a wild harvest license and a farm license for Barkley Sound. He is currently building a processing/drying plant on his property for the purpose of preparing dried bulk seaweeds that will be sold to food processors and specialty health food outlets.
Canadian Kelp Resources, Ltd. (est. 1981) is a family owned and operated company dedicated to the development and promotion of quality kelp products and services in the context of good ecological and humanitarian practices. The company has adapted the Japanese kelp farming technology to Western Canadian conditions and established the first experimental kelp farms outside of Asia Their product line includes sea vegetables and raw kelp material for pharmaceutical and cosmetic products, and kelp seed. In recent years this company has also added a consulting function because of their practical knowledge and expertise and they are contracted worldwide to projects including kelp farming, kelp product development and processing, and environmental assessment and bio-remediation. The company's principles are: Louis Druehl, PhD, Professor of Marine Botany, Simon Fraser University and Rae Hopkins, a professional cook with extensive experience in innovative food preparation.
Future opportunities and challenges
There is significant growth potential in this sector. As a relatively new industry in BC and Canada, the greatest challenges lie in the multi-tiered and often contradictory regulatory framework that determines conditions for farming, picking, harvesting and production. At the present time, entrepreneurs entering this industry must deal federally with DFO and provincially with Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries.
A licence to harvest marine plants in British Columbia is required to undertake the commercial harvest of any marine plant. The licence stipulates the species, quota, method and area of harvest. Licences to harvest marine plants are issued for the purposes of the commercial spawn-on-kelp (or roe-on-kelp) fishery, and for other commercial purposes such as specialty food for the restaurant market, and fertilizer.
As one of the requirements stated on the license, all marine plants destined for the food industry must be processed in a duly licensed facility. The reason for this is to protect public health by requiring that food products are prepared for the market in a manner, and in a facility, that will ensure wholesomeness.
Before an application can be considered, the applicant must be able to demonstrate that the product will be used for a viable business.
The advantage in the seaweed industry is its technological simplicity. For wild harvest, knowledge of the local area and ecology are the only requirements. For farm production, simple and inexpensive systems similar to those used for long line oyster production are employed. For processing, while plants must be built to meet federal food inspection standards, only simple racking and heating systems are required.
Assessment of the sector by SCED Criteria
Environmental criteria: Even under ideal conditions, where plenty of management funding and labor resources exist, precise human management of kelp forests is inherently difficult due to the complexity of the ecology and the highly dynamic marine environment of kelp forests (Foster and Schiel, 1985). After an analysis of the studies that have been done, two general conclusions can be reached. The first is that when kelp harvesting is done on a limited scale, there is generally little detectable, adverse effect on the kelp forest. The second conclusion is that, while numerous expert opinions agree that over-harvesting can occur (North, 1968; Miller and Geibel, 1973) and they have even postulated the parameters for such a harvest level, few long term studies exist that can answer the question, "At what point would intensive repetitious harvesting, especially in a confined space, begin to cause significant ecological impacts?" Such a question becomes even more complicated when non-harvesting impacts occur, such as storms, near-shore development, incidental effects from recreational uses of the kelp bed, and sewage discharges.
Invertebrates, of all the groups of species that rely on kelp forests for their habitat, may be the most affected by kelp harvesting. For motile invertebrates in the kelp canopy, previous studies estimate that from 1/4 to 1/3 of them are removed when kelp is being harvested by large-scale harvesters (Quast, 1968). However, no research has conclusively determined whether or not such removals are significantly affecting those species populations within the forest, or if such removals are ecologically important.
Some studies indicate harvesting the upper layer of the canopy can be beneficial to kelp by preventing plants from growing top-heavy and becoming uprooted. Harvesting advocates also believe trimming allows more sunlight to filter through the water surface, enhancing the diversity of plants living under the forest canopy.
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Economic criteria: This industry offers a number of unique opportunities for small
business development in the region. Not only can entrepreneurs get into the business of bulk seaweed production with little capital investment, but also there are a number of avenues for the development of small value-added industries as
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off-shoots even of the two existing businesses in the region. Kelp flakes, chips and natural products for spas and resorts are just a few examples of businesses that can readily be build from the bi-products of the bulk kelp business.
Local jobs, while not large in number, can provide year round or at least secondary seasonal employment. There is no perceivable negative impact on the region's informal economy if this industry is expanded.
Social criteria: The seaweed business offers an entry-point for people who may be marginalized from the mainstream economy because it is low-tech and low-cost. The most complex aspect of the business is market development; accessing existing markets and growing new markets for seaweed products will prove to be the most complex aspect of the industry. It is not likely that this industry will grow large enough to be a major employment generator in the region but it should be able to sustain at least several secure part-time positions.
Opportunity for First Nations: Farm tenures for seaweed production fall under the same legislation as shellfish and finfish farming, thereby recognizing the traditional rights of First Nations to the marine environment and offering opportunities for tenure development to adjacent reserves. First Nations applying for marine plant tenures are subject to the same criteria as non-Natives, including the submission of a business plan that shows the application of the proposed harvest to a viable business.
The seaweed industry may offer an ideal 'fit' for many of the First Nations communities in the region. There is already a historic and cultural relationship to the marine environment and to the farming and use of seaweeds at least for the roe-on-kelp fishery.
For wild-harvest, knowledge of the areas ecology and geography are the only requirements. For farming, First Nations' ability to access tenure sites within their traditional territories offers a distinct advantage. The fact that this industry requires low capital investment and limited technology for all aspects, from production through to processing means it is comparatively easier and less expensive to get into the seaweed business than into many other marine-based industries.
List of key resources and contacts:
Contacts:
- Dr. Louis Druel, Canadian Kelp Resources, Bamfield, BC
- Mr. Scott MacDonald, Pacific Sun Kelp, Port Albion, BC
Publications:
- Ference Weicker & Co., British Columbia Seaweed Market Study, 1995
- BC MAFF, Satara Malloch, Marine Plant Management & Opportunities in BC, 2000
- Dr. Louis Druehl, Pacific Seaweeds, 2000
- Dr. Louis Druehl, Potential for a New Seaweed Industry in Canada, a Western Perspective, 1999
Internet:
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