produits de la mer - n°192 - Mai 2019 - 112

Special feature ❘ SEAWEED

Encouraging seaweed farming
Faced with a lack of edible
seaweed, processing
companies and suppliers
are multiplying projects
to develop new forms
of cultivation
at sea or on land.

Seaweed harvesting, here dulse by Algue Service, is the first source of supply ahead of seaweed farming.

To control the sector and for traceability of organic farming, I am in favour of
cultivation in tanks," he confides.
Other processing companies are interested in seaweed farming approaches,
such as Algue Service, a partner in the
Polistr project, conducted with the Regional
Shellfish Aquaculture Committees in North
and South Brittany. "Originally, faced with

or Mathieu Isoard, director of
GlobeXplore, harvesting shoreline seaweed is not short of
drawbacks: hazards related to
weather conditions, accidental water
pollution, but also sometimes the difficult traceability of harvesting areas. The
company, which until now worked with
independent harvesters, has just started
this activity, with its own boat and a salaried harvester. "Faced with the development of the market and the number of
new companies, we wanted to be autonomous as regards our supply." Having
already gained the organic certification
for their processing, GlobeXplore is now
certified organic for harvesting as well,
with 50 tons expected this year. "We
practice responsible harvest, by respecting the opening dates for each species, the minimum harvest sizes and the
necessary set-aside areas." Certainly, it
is possible to buy farmed seaweed. "But
at sea, we remain dependent on nature.

Algolesko has embarked on macroalgae farming intended for freezing as an ingredient for industry.

❘ 112 ❘ PRODUITS DE LA MER N°192 MAI 2019

150
350

t
of macroalgae
are pro .

oyster mortality, the aim was to diversify
the activity of shellfish farmers. The context has changed, but they are the ones
who have at their disposal the infrastructure, both on land and at sea. This makes
it possible to move forward more quickly,"
explains its director Henri Courtois. The
study covers edible species such as sea lettuce, dulse, nori and Atlantic wakame. "The
seaweed we need will be grown either in
tanks or on the foreshore," he says.
After setting up a new laboratory in
Taulé (Finistère) in 2016 for prepared products, Algue Service is expanding its primary
processing facilities, mainly for washing
and salt stabilization in Roscoff. This will
increase the company's processing capacity to 500 tons per year, which means an
additional 200 tons. On top of its purchases from independent harvesters, the
company employs three fishermen.
Alexandre Coléno and Elsa Pointud,
managers of Bret'Alg, in Roscoff, are positive. "We do see a significant increase in
the use of seaweed. This is a long-term
trend." As a result, there is pressure on the
market due to the limited quantities available. A specialist in primary processing, the
company, which offers salted seaweed,
***

produits de la mer - n°192 - Mai 2019

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