SUGAR KELP, HÓLMAVÍK

© 2024 Elisa Debora Hofmann

Sugar kelp is a seaweed that can be a nutritious food and replace fossil fuels in many industries. Its production in the Westfjords includes wild harvesting and cultivation in farms of different sizes. Some production modes can damage the marine ecosystem.

Seaweed is a well-known ingredient in Asian seafood cuisine but has also been a traditional diet in the North Atlantic region. Sometimes degraded as poor people’s food in the past, food enthusiasts are rediscovering and reviving this produce from the sea. The most popular species is sugar kelp, which contains natural sugar that crystallizes white on the surface when dried. Yet, seaweed is not only for food. It serves as feed in aquaculture and is a potential substitute for fossil fuels in industries such as textiles and plastics. Its economic potential is huge with a projected market growth of up to 12 billion US dollars by 2030 [11].

Increased industrial demand exerts pressure for expanding seaweed production. Production can take the form of wild harvesting or farming. When conducted on large scale, both risk degrading the marine environment. Wild harvesting of kelp forests on industrial scale may harm the seafloor and cut down the “rainforest of the sea” that is a highly productive and carbon-storing ecosystem [12]. Large-scale seaweed farming may create problems similar to those in conventional agriculture, including the spread of pests and diseases as well as the reduction of genetic variety through profit-oriented breeding [13]. Compared to this, small-scale cultivation promises a more environmentally sustainable seaweed production [Interview 10].

Science can inform a sustainable approach to seaweed cultivation and use. Fine Food Islandica, a start-up located in Hólmavík, breeds seaweed in the hatchery and then puts it on lines into the waters of Steingrimsfjörður. To grow the seaweed successfully, the company integrates scientific guidance, industry best practice manuals [14], and longstanding knowledge of mussel fishers who also use lines for cultivation, coastal farmers, and local landowners [Interview 10]. A prerequisite for developing this combination was a deep understanding of the local ecological knowledge in the area [15]. The start-up uses the seaweed in food products but also experiments with different processing methods. Indeed, science has identified opportunities for sustainable seaweed biorefinery cascading from higher-value products in health and food to lower-value products, such as in soil improvement and bioenergy [16]. Scientific inquiry also sheds light on the economic perspectives and challenges for regional seaweed production in the Westfjords in the context of global competition [17].

Science also comes into play to understand what happens under the sea surface. Scientists have highlighted potential positive effects of seaweed farming as temporary habitats and carbon sinks [18]. For instance, farms attract lumpfish that help control lice infections in salmon aquaculture. The capacity of seaweed farming to serve as a climate fix, however, remains heavily contested [19], [20]. This, and potential adverse impacts of large-scale farming, create a need for more thorough scientific inquiry and monitoring [13], [18]. Based on the results, scientist could determine a sea area’s maximum carrying capacity for seaweed farming. Furthermore, scientists have been observing shifts in the distribution of sugar kelp in response to warming seas and nutrient pollution [21], [22]—implying that seaweed cultivation in the North Atlantic itself is subject to anthropogenic environmental change.