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Guidelines for a sustainable aquaculture of seaweed in Europe. Prepared by 50 experts in the frame of the European COST Action Phycomorph (FA1406). http://www.phycomorph.org/
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... concept of ecosystem-based management approaches based on an integrated approach to the entire ecosystem, including humans, should also be considered to develop coastal spatial planning and the best-practice guidelines for exploitation of seaweed (both harvesting and aquaculture) in order to avoid spatial and temporal mismatches of the governance (Crowder & Norse 2008) (For review, see Rebours et al. 2014). In France, recommendations have been provided by a past project (Netalgae, Figure 8) while in Scotland, the first policy guidelines for sustainable seaweed cultivation are available since 2017. ...
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... for each cultivated species, cross experiments should be run to test the compatibility between local and distant strains, and thus evaluate inbreeding and outbreeding effects (Figure 18; also refer to the definition of "local strain" in the Glossary). This is a long-term assessment which should involve all the stakeholders. ...
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... Jacquemin Fig. 18: Potential impact on genetic diversity when using either local or distant populations for the sourcing of the cultivated population (© Bertrand Jacquemin, CEVA). Table 4: Summary of advantages and limits of the different sourcing techniques. The species can come from either the natural habitat (wild) or a seaweed collection. If the ...
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... concept of ecosystem-based management approaches based on an integrated approach to the entire ecosystem, including humans, should also be considered to develop coastal spatial planning and the best-practice guidelines for exploitation of seaweed (both harvesting and aquaculture) in order to avoid spatial and temporal mismatches of the governance (Crowder & Norse 2008) (For review, see Rebours et al. 2014). In France, recommendations have been provided by a past project (Netalgae, Figure 8) while in Scotland, the first policy guidelines for sustainable seaweed cultivation are available since 2017. ...
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... for each cultivated species, cross experiments should be run to test the compatibility between local and distant strains, and thus evaluate inbreeding and outbreeding effects (Figure 18; also refer to the definition of "local strain" in the Glossary). This is a long-term assessment which should involve all the stakeholders. ...
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... Jacquemin Fig. 18: Potential impact on genetic diversity when using either local or distant populations for the sourcing of the cultivated population (© Bertrand Jacquemin, CEVA). Table 4: Summary of advantages and limits of the different sourcing techniques. The species can come from either the natural habitat (wild) or a seaweed collection. If the ...
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... concept of ecosystem-based management approaches based on an integrated approach to the entire ecosystem, including humans, should also be considered to develop coastal spatial planning and the best-practice guidelines for exploitation of seaweed (both harvesting and aquaculture) in order to avoid spatial and temporal mismatches of the governance (Crowder & Norse 2008) (For review, see Rebours et al. 2014). In France, recommendations have been provided by a past project (Netalgae, Figure 8) while in Scotland, the first policy guidelines for sustainable seaweed cultivation are available since 2017. ...
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... for each cultivated species, cross experiments should be run to test the compatibility between local and distant strains, and thus evaluate inbreeding and outbreeding effects (Figure 18; also refer to the definition of "local strain" in the Glossary). This is a long-term assessment which should involve all the stakeholders. ...
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... Jacquemin Fig. 18: Potential impact on genetic diversity when using either local or distant populations for the sourcing of the cultivated population (© Bertrand Jacquemin, CEVA). Table 4: Summary of advantages and limits of the different sourcing techniques. The species can come from either the natural habitat (wild) or a seaweed collection. If the ...
Citations
... In Europe, some countries are also trialing with incipient seaweed aquaculture [15]. In such places legislations are also not specific for seaweed but aquaculture sensu lato [6]. Nevertheless, one of the major regulators for seaweed aquaculture is actually the social acceptability, with a population that not fully understand detrimental and positive aspects of algal aquacultural practices [7]. ...
Seaweed farming worldwide has increased considerably in the last century. Latin America (LATAM) has an
enormous potential to contribute within the medium/long term to global seaweed production. However, the
seaweed sector is not exempted by risks (e.g. diseases and pests) overall understudied in the region, reason why
biosecurity and traceability measurements may be needed to some extent. In this study, policies concerning
biosecurity in seaweed aquaculture in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru were analyzed and
classified for different categories. The results suggest that most of LATAM policies tend to focus on prevention
measures, especially in ecological biosecurity problems, which are included mostly in general aquaculture leg�islations. Contrarily, economic and environmental risks are to a lesser extent covered. Furthermore, cryptic
ecological aspects associated with farming such as introduction of host for diseases or genetic pollution are often
overlooked, and therefore poorly managed. Within LATAM countries, Chile has the highest specificity in
seaweed-exclusive legislation, likely associated to recent problems with pests and introduction of exotic species.
Overall, there is a lack of information related to biosecurity risks of seaweed aquaculture in LATAM, similar to
what had happened to other globally relevant producers in the southeastern Pacific that have experienced serious
biosecurity problems in the recent years. Seaweed aquaculture is relatively incipient in LATAM region, but its
sustainability as well as the associated food security systems may be at risk, unless new policies make compatible
seaweed production and biosecurity practices.
... This report has focused on the production of algae and thus not considered the full value chain perspective. Macroalgae biomass can degrade rapidly after harvest and be at risk of microbial decomposition and loss of sensory properties such as taste and odour (Barbier et al. 2019). For all foods, preservation allows to stabilize and prolong shelf life of products, but it usually comes at a high energy and environmental cost (Boye and Arcand 2013;Menon et al. 2020;Adnouni et al. 2023). ...
... There may also be competition for the future algal biomass production between direct human consumption usages and the current interest for hydrocolloid extraction and non-food use by the European industry. These industries are currently major importers of macroalgae and the demand is expected to grow (FAO and WHO 2022;Camarena-Gomez et al. 2022;Mendes et al. 2022;Cai et al. 2021;Barbier et al. 2019;Albers et al. 2021). To prevent that one trade restricts the other from expanding, multiple product production from macroalgae in smart biorefinery sequences should be further explored (Wahlström et al. 2018;Baghel et al. 2023;Torres et al. 2019;Balina et al. 2017). ...
Abstract: Algae have gained increasing attention as promising food from both an environmental and nutritional perspective. However, current understanding is still limited. This report summarizes the status of knowledge for this emerging sector, focusing on micro- and macroalgae species most relevant for Europe (particularly Sweden). Environmental impacts, with focus on climate, are evaluated through literature reviews and analysis of existing life cycle assessments (LCAs), and nutritional potential in the form of data compilation and calculation of nutrient density scores. Overall, findings reveal that current data is incomplete and of poor representativeness. Most LCAs are not performed on commercial production, but at pilot or experimental scale, why often only indicative drivers for greenhouse gas emissions may be identified. For microalgae, there is a wide diversity of production systems in different conditions across the globe. Based on the data at hand, energy use is a key hotspot across most studies for this production, driven by the requirements of different types of systems and species, and to location. For macroalgae production, despite poor representativeness of especially green and red macroalgae, key aspects for minimizing greenhouse gas emissions are associated with energy consumption and use of materials for farming such as ropes. No LCA exists on wild harvested macroalgae, representing the largest production volume in Europe (>95%); large-scale wild harvest may also be associated with risks to ecosystems unless suitable management is enforced. Significant data gaps also exist in food composition databases regarding nutrient and heavy metal content in algae (e.g., vitamins and omega- 3 fatty acids). When available, nutrient content was found to be highly variable within and across species, but overall, the evaluation of nutritional quality indicated that algae may be a considerable source of minerals and vitamin B12. The contribution of fiber and protein is generally minimal in a 5 g dry weight portion of macroalgae; microalgae may have higher protein content, and also fat. However, excessive amounts of iodine and several heavy metals may be represented even in very small amounts of unprocessed macroalgae. In summary, the suggested potential of farmed algae as a sustainable food resource is overall strengthened by its generally low carbon footprint during production compared to other food raw materials. However, more input data are needed to fill data gaps regarding both environmental impacts and nutrient quality, and effects from different processing, as well as improved understanding of nutrient and contaminant bioavailability. Pending further research, careful considerations of risks and benefits associated with algae production and consumption should be applied.
... This report has focused on the production of algae and thus not considered the full value chain perspective. Macroalgae biomass can degrade rapidly after harvest and be at risk of microbial decomposition and loss of sensory properties such as taste and odour (Barbier et al. 2019). For all foods, preservation allows to stabilize and prolong shelf life of products, but it usually comes at a high energy and environmental cost (Boye and Arcand 2013;Menon et al. 2020;Adnouni et al. 2023). ...
... There may also be competition for the future algal biomass production between direct human consumption usages and the current interest for hydrocolloid extraction and non-food use by the European industry. These industries are currently major importers of macroalgae and the demand is expected to grow (FAO and WHO 2022;Camarena-Gomez et al. 2022;Mendes et al. 2022;Cai et al. 2021;Barbier et al. 2019;Albers et al. 2021). To prevent that one trade restricts the other from expanding, multiple product production from macroalgae in smart biorefinery sequences should be further explored (Wahlström et al. 2018;Baghel et al. 2023;Torres et al. 2019;Balina et al. 2017). ...
... In Europe, very few rules and guidelines defining suitable hygienic seaweed harvest or cultivation areas exist (Barbier et al., 2020). Barbier et al. (2019) suggested that it would be unnecessary to monitor Escherichia coli as part of a future European ecological seaweed regulations, since seaweed does not accumulate bacteria and viruses in the way that filtering bivalves (e.g., blue mussels and oysters) do. In Denmark, the Danish Veterinary and Food Authority studied the presence of E. coli and Salmonella on different seaweed species in 2017 and concluded that no specific areas were deemed unsafe for seaweed harvest, except for areas located in the vicinity of point pollution sources such as sewage disposal points and harbours (Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, 2018). ...
... The relationship between concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria in the seawater and seaweed was only weakly quantitative, with linear regression coefficients (R 2 ) of 0.330 (p = 0.051, NS) and 0.493 (p = 0.011) for E. coli and coliforms, respectively (see supplemental material, Figures S1 and S2). In a paper discussing future European guidelines for cultured seaweed, Barbier et al. (2019) recommended that monitoring of E. coli be considered as a measure for hygiene as per current microbiological criteria for other foods (European Commission, 2005). Our results show that detection of E. coli in seawater would be a good predictor of the presence of E. coli in seaweed but not the quantity. ...
... In the food industry, seaweeds play a major role as a raw material due to its possession of polyphenolic compounds and fucoxanthin pigment especially in Undaria pinnatifida [8,9]. Barbier et al. [10] have stated that the consumption of seaweeds (Laminaria ochroleuca and Sacchoriza polyschides) would improve the bone health, muscle function, and influence the metabolism in humans through their associated minerals, trace elements, and vitamins (A, K, and B12). Ruan et al. [11] have opined that the marine-algae showed a variety of medicinal properties like anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-cancer, antiviral, antidiabetic, and antifungal characteristics upon the regular consumption. ...
Marine macroalgae (seaweeds) have been attracting the attention of both consumers and researchers in recent days because of their enormous nutritional and biotechnological properties. Seaweeds are autotrophic plants that are edible in Asia, especially in Indonesia, Philippines, China, and Korea, and recently in Europe, the USA, and Australia. The high rate of lipids, proteins, and fiber-content of seaweeds is an advantageous one. Their bioactive molecules play a major role in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmetics industries. The daily usage of seaweed has been increasing day by day, but their wild harvest rate does not meet their requirements. Hence, on-shore seaweed cultivation was initiated several decades ago in some Asian countries, and subsequently such culture-methods have been followed in some other countries (to encourage seaweed cultivation and its associated products). On-shore cultivation would provide a large algal-quantity at a specific time interval, but when it comes to edible purposes, on-shore cultivation fails to provide contamination free, and nutritionally rich seaweeds. Therefore, the land-based tank cultivation-practise could provide an opportunity to cultivate seaweed (without contamination) and also to make it possible to enhance their nutritional compounds under laboratory conditions initially. Natural calamities may not affect the cultivation of seaweed in tanks. It would ensure the continuous supply of raw material to consumers and industries. This review discusses the world scenario of edible seaweed production especially the green seaweeds, as to why land-based seaweed cultivation is essential, the advantages of tank cultivation, how to select the seaweeds for tank cultivation, the methods of plantlet preparation and the indoor and the outdoor cultivation in tanks, basic applications of tank cultivated seaweeds; and the challenges during tank cultivation.
... In this sense, the north of Spain coastline has been divided into four ecological zones according to their environmental differences, which makes this region a good reservoir with great macroalgal diversity [18]. Consequently, a good selection of the species is essential for further steps, and native species well-adapted to the local environment seem to be the best suited [19]. ...
The search for new sources of antimicrobial compounds has become an urgent need, due to the threat that the spread of bacterial resistance represents for global health and food safety. Brown macroalgae have been proposed as a great reservoir in the search for novel antimicrobial compounds. In this study, mid-polarity extracts were performed with a selection of 20 brown macroalgae species from northern Spain. The total polyphenol, carbohydrate and protein contents were quantified by spectrophotometry. The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of whole macroalgae were also studied as a biomarker of their metabolic state in the representative species of the tested families by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The antimicrobial potential of the extracts was assessed by a disk diffusion assay against 20 target bacteria and further determinations of the minimum inhibitory (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) were performed by a microdilution assay for the active extracts. Ericaria selaginoides, Bifurcaria bifurcata and Dictyota dichotoma showed an antimicrobial effect against six Gram-positive strains: Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Geobacillus stearothermophilus, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus haemolyticus. The phenolic content was generally higher in the extracts that showed antimicrobial activity, followed by carbohydrates and low contents of proteins. The results obtained in this study reveal the potential of brown macroalgae as a promising alternative source of antimicrobial compounds as functional ingredients for the application in industrial fields.
... Most globally and domestically produced seaweed is sourced for human consumption [17], and seaweed offers numerous health benefits including high fiber, vitamin, and mineral content [56]. Seaweeds have many other uses in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, cosmetics, industrial thickening agents, animal feed additives, and fertilizer [3,11,14,22]. Although many seaweed species possess commercial value, this analysis is focused on Saccharina latissima, or sugar kelp, which is one of the most highly cultivated kelp varieties in global and domestic aquaculture [16]. ...
The United States’ seaweed industry is worth over $300 million annually thanks in part to the rising popularity of seaweed-based products. Seaweed has myriad uses and great potential for novel product innovation and development while also providing numerous environmental benefits including carbon and nitrogen sequestration and other crucial ecosystem services . One of the most promising and prevalent species under domestic cultivation is Saccharina latissma. Also known as sugar kelp, this abundantly grown cold-water species dominates the edible seaweed market in the United States . This paper provides an in-depth geographical analysis of the current state of the U.S. sugar kelp industry, comparing regional market differences and opportunities for growth in Maine, Alaska, and Connecticut. Data was collected from the 2020 National Sea Grant Seaweed Symposium (https://seaweedhub.org/symposium/) and through a series of semi-structured interviews with key industry participants, yielding insights into the challenges that seaweed stakeholders face across the country. Proposed solutions for increasing the profitability of sugar kelp are explored and include market differentiation through regional origin labels, eco-labels, and quality labels.
... EU, France, and the USA have set limits on allowable thresholds of lead, cadmium, mercury, and total and inorganic arsenic for edible seaweed (France, USA) and seaweed used as supplements (EU). Although thresholds vary somewhat depending on the governing body, concentrations found in U. lactuca cultivated in this study were well below the established lowest limits for arsenic (< 3 mg kg −1 inorganic, 40 mg kg −1 total), cadmium (< 0.5 mg kg −1 ), lead (< 5 mg kg −1 ), and mercury (< 0.1 mg kg −1 ) (Barbier et al. 2019). Seasonal variation was noted in arsenic and cadmium in U. lactuca in this study with highest arsenic levels in the fall and highest cadmium levels in the spring. ...
A seasonal comparison of the nutritional profile of sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca) produced in a land-based integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) system in Florida was conducted quarterly (March, June, September, December) over the course of an annual production cycle. Nutritional parameters evaluated included proximate analysis, mineral and total carotenoid content, and amino acid profile. Water quality parameters evaluated included temperature, salinity, pH, light availability, and nitrogenous compounds. No significant differences with respect to seasonality were seen with regard to proximate analysis. In contrast, significant differences were noted in mineral concentrations for potassium (highest spring, lowest fall), copper (highest spring, lowest winter), and iron (highest fall, lowest summer). Levels of arsenic, cadmium, and lead were below European Union (EU) recommended threshold levels, and no mercury was detected. Seasonal variation was seen in arsenic (highest in fall) and cadmium (highest in spring). The percent of non-essential amino acids was higher than that of essential amino acids, with high concentrations of aspartic acid, glutamic acid, and alanine noted in all seasons. Carotene concentrations ranged from 114 to 229 mg/kg. In general, the nutritional profile of U. lactuca produced in a sub-tropical IMTA system is seasonally consistent, allowing harvested product to be utilized year-round without concern for nutritional loss.
... Future research and investments should aim to address the above challenges which are not exclusive to the UK seaweed industry but are also shared by other countries (e.g. in Europe, see Barbier et al. 2019). Therefore, international collaborations and knowledge exchange should be encouraged to tackle these knowledge gaps. ...
The seaweed industry in the UK is still in its infancy but has the potential to thrive and support a range of businesses. Seaweeds have traditionally been harvested from the wild for a variety of uses, playing an important role for coastal economies. Farming of seaweed in the UK is currently limited although there is an increasing number of commercial farms. Most seaweed-related businesses are based in England and Scotland, and mainly relays on seaweed harvested from the wild in the UK. Ascophyllum nodosum is the seaweed species most frequently produced/used by seaweed-businesses, harvested at a medium to large scale in Scotland. Around a third of the UK businesses targets the food and drink sector, 19% the beauty industry, and 13% produces nutraceuticals. The potential future increase in demand for seaweed biomass in the UK is likely to be met by farming rather than harvest from the wild. However, for the industry to grow and realise this vision, several challenges need to be addressed, through research, investments, international collaborations, and knowledge transfer.
... Research should be ready for this solution if society should see this as important for our sea balance and/or human interests of seaweed production for food and/or energy. At the moment there are no adapted gene transfer methods regarding brown algae, in addition, the European "climate" as illustrated by the suggested guidelines for seaweed practices reduces interests and discussions of possible GM applications (Barbier et al. 2019). ...
... The resulting 200 pages guidelines named Pegasus were intended to help the authorities adopt mutual practices for our shared oceans' multiple interests (Barbier et al. 2019;Chopin and Tacon 2021). Safety issues of macroalgae such as harmful content of toxic components as arsenic (Yokoi and Konomi 2012;Wang et al. 2015) or high level of compounds that should be kept within a narrow window of minimal to maximal intake per day can also be met by genomics and possible breeding (Hwang et al. 2019;Goecke et al. 2020) to secure and reduce e.g. ...
Increased efforts are needed to meet future needs to feed the globe’s growing human population while securing sustainable uses of all resources from land and sea areas. Macroalgae are expected to be important for future solutions, given their broad growth regions along long coastlines coupled to important ecological roles and impressive biomass production without the need for resources like freshwater or fertilizer. Sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) has a largely unexploited potential in the European and North American seas with a considerable possible increased production if establishing cultivation to protect wild populations. Breeding to develop varieties well adapted to sea climates and to meet food and feed safety and security demands are important also to sea organisms. Here we discuss selected breeding options and show how they can contribute to sustainable seaweed exploitation. Genomic resources will be given special attention, even though it is still limited what is published and therefore what is known. Pan-genome releases of several macroalgae are expected and would be a welcome move to improve our understanding of these organisms. Here we are discussing genomic tools and how they are expected to build an important foundation for expected industrial development, ensure sustainable exploitation, and secure regulatory frameworks. Breeding goals and technology options as genome editing will be evaluated and put in perspective to show how it’s definition as a GMO might affect regulations and connected possible uses. Finally, since most exciting to us, we discuss our current understanding of sugar kelp’s development and growth. Finally, what we are starting to work on now; how genomic tools are expected to add to this basic developmental understanding.
