Experts say it has the potential to become Scotland’s next major growth industry, fuelling a jobs boom in coastal towns.
Used in everything from skincare to seasonings and health supplements many fishermen are now supplementing their income by harvesting seaweed.
However, a new report has cautioned that the “folly of other nations” must not be repeated, either by the over-exploitation of wild stocks or by allowing a “small handful of multi-nationals to dominate”, as had happened in the salmon farming sector.
It says Government subsidy and support will be essential if Scotland is to capitalise on the potentially multi-billion pound European industry.
Charles Millar, executive director of the Sustainable Inshore Fisheries Trust (Sift), said ministers had a “unique opportunity” to establish a new and potentially valuable part of Scotland’s marine economy.
The trust’s research found that Scotland’s seas are “ideal for cultivation of seaweeds such as kelp”, with interest in kelp farming “rapidly expanding” as a way of creating a sustainable and alternative livelihood.
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However, there are “major barriers to development” of seaweed farming and new businesses in the sector can face “daunting tasks”
Since 2018 applications have been lodged for seaweed farms covering more than two million square metres of Scottish coastal waters.
As well as a need for government subsidy and support, the report identified investment in and the development of processing facilities as being key, along with improved organisation and co-operation between kelp farmers.
The report said: “The Scottish Government could help co-operation by providing kelp farmers with funds to create voluntary ‘producers organisations’ or ‘farmer-owned processing companies’, which would allow farmers to strengthen their market position and overcome supply chain bottlenecks.”
Mr Millar added: “What is needed is a concerted effort by both industry and government to develop the infrastructure required to make Scotland a world leader in the cultivation, processing and marketing of food, feedstuff, pharmaceutical and other seaweed-based products.”
Report author Dr Kyla Orr, who is also one of the founders of the KelpCrofting seaweed farming business in Skye, said that seaweed cultivation “has a substantial potential to bring skilled jobs and economic opportunities to Scotland’s coastal communities”.
She added: “The risk is that we repeat the mistakes of the past.
READ MORE: Salmon is Scotland's biggest food export and we must help it compete
“Too often, proposed new industries, like both salmon farming and the now-abandoned mechanical harvest of wild kelp, have been driven by short term financial assessments which favour the cheaper projects, irrespective of their consequences.”
Dr Adrian MacLeod, a marine biologist who manages a seaweed farm in Oban has said it will be important to mechanise the industry to allow Scotland to compete with major players such as Asia.
Fiona Houston, chief executive of Mara Seaweed, said seaweed could in the future be mentioned alongside other Scottish world-leading industries like whisky and renewables.
She said: “The industry needs further investment to make it globally competitive. Considering the location Mara are based, a combination of leaving the European Union and Covid-19 has damaged the coastal communities in Fife by cutting off access to Europe’s premium seafood markets and by closing businesses down for a considerable period.”
The Scottish Government was asked for comment.
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