Bull kelp, often found washed up on Vancouver IslandB次元官网网址檚 seashores, not only makes a fine plaything for kids at the beach, but also has fronds that can add flavour to pickled preserves.

So far, the species isnB次元官网网址檛 being eyed locally for its commercial potential, but several other kelp species native to Island waters are already under cultivation and part of a budding local seaweed aquaculture industry the Pacific Seaweed Industry Association is working to grow.

Pacific Seaweed is a non-profit association working to develop awareness about the benefits from and diverse uses for seaweed. The association collaborates with industry stakeholders to develop educational material and new technology, promotes innovation and advocates to government for help to support the industry.

Mark Smith, Pacific Seaweed president and CEO, presented the economic and environmental benefits and diversity of products that can be derived from cultivating seaweed at the Vancouver Island Economic AllianceB次元官网网址檚 State of the Island Economic Summit on Wednesday, Oct. 26.

Smith said commercial seaweed cultivation holds economic opportunities and job creation for Island communities and First Nations plus environmental benefits for industries researching new tools and products to fight climate change.

B次元官网网址淲e believe, from a Canadian perspective, we could build the whole industry here,B次元官网网址� Smith said.

The industry includes growers, product processors, distribution and marketing companies and exporters to off-Island markets. Seaweed products, he said, could have impacts on climate change through other industries, such as seaweed mixed into cattle feed. Smith said a small percentage of seaweed in a traditional cattle diet could have B次元官网网址渕onumentalB次元官网网址� methane-reduction impacts.

He said as well, a company on the mainland is working with UBC on a packaging material made from seaweed and wood fibre and pulp waste.

Taking advantage of growing demand for cultivated seaweed means scaling up all areas of the industry, Smith said, adding that the U.S., specifically Alaska, has already done so. Scotland has invested $100 million in its seaweed industry and the Asian industry is huge, Smith said, so B.C. will have to quickly get into the game to be competitive.

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Cascadia Seaweed, based in Sidney, bills itself as the largest kelp cultivator in Canada and raises seaweed from farms around the Island. It lists on its website other markets for seaweed that include fertilizer, biostimulants (which enhance nutrient uptake and nutrient use efficiency in crops), human food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, bioplastics and more. However, the company says there is a global shortage for the product, harvesting of wild seaweed has been capped and the price for seaweed in Asia, where 95 per cent of seaweed farms are located, has increased more than 100 per cent since 2017.

B次元官网网址淲e have to be at scale,B次元官网网址� said Bill Collins, Cascadia Seaweed chairperson. B次元官网网址淪cale is a very interesting problem because the general public are really worried about industrialization of the coastal zone and exploitation beyond the limits of the carrying capacity of the ocean. Because, in most peopleB次元官网网址檚 views, when people say B次元官网网址榮caleB次元官网网址� they think of China or Malaysia scales where thereB次元官网网址檚 seaweed farms that are 15 kilometres on a side. ThatB次元官网网址檚 not the context by which the industry is growing in British Columbia.B次元官网网址�

Collins said the companyB次元官网网址檚 target is 50,000 hectares by 2040, or the equivalent of 50 average-size farms in Saskatchewan. That would be enough to be used as an additive toward feeding three to five million cattle and avoid nearly two megatonnes of methane emissions into the atmosphere, he said.

B次元官网网址淭wo megatonnes is two per cent of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 total agriculture emissions today, so one company can generate that if we use the oceans correctly in partnerships,B次元官网网址� Collins said.

There are examples of best practices to be learned from competitors, but there are also lessons to be taken from B.C.B次元官网网址檚 history with salmon farming and that industryB次元官网网址檚 environmental impacts. Collins said there are opposing views to farming seaweed at an industrial scale, but said overall, current scientific knowlege suggests the positives outweigh the negatives.

B次元官网网址淔rom our learnings, we now know that we canB次元官网网址檛 just make these grandiose statements about benefits,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭hey have to be backed up with science and the science today tells us that thereB次元官网网址檚 a net positive benefit.B次元官网网址�

Collins said most importantly, commercial seaweed farming should informed by knowledge of the industryB次元官网网址檚 First Nations partners.

B次元官网网址淏ecause they know best whatB次元官网网址檚 best for the environment because theyB次元官网网址檙e living on the water and living close to the water,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淪o industry has to be executed in partnership with our First Nations. We think that will be a large statement on whatB次元官网网址檚 good for the planet and whatB次元官网网址檚 not good for the planet.B次元官网网址�

The economic summit continues Thursday, Oct. 27.

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