SEAFOOD 101
Science Spotlight
Is seaweed still seaweed if it’s grown on land?
Have you ever eaten seaweed? Maybe in sushi rolls or miso soup? Or maybe
you’ve tried roasted seaweed snacks or a wakame seaweed salad at a
favorite Japanese restaurant.
Seaweed has been a long-time favorite snack for Asian cultures, and the
salty, savory, earthy flavor is rising in popularity in America. Health food and
gourmet ‘foodie’ cultures have embraced seaweed as an exotic flavor and
you see it popping up in creative dishes that accent its umami (pleasant
savory) flavor and unique texture.
It’s also really good for you. The dark green leaf-like sea vegetable is one of
the best sources of iodine, a rare mineral in food that’s important for thyroid
and brain health. It also contains more calcium than broccoli and is high in
protein, fiber, and vitamins B12 and A.
Most seaweed sold in the U.S. is harvested from the wild and sold in Asian
markets, high-end restaurants and health food stores. But wild stocks can
have varying availability and quality based on seasons and restrictions on
harvest. So scientists at a NOAA Fisheries laboratory in Manchester, Wash.
started to experiment with growing seaweed in tanks on land as a way to
provide a steady stream of high quality seaweed. If it worked, it could also
generate local jobs producing a local food product.
The scientists wanted to
know if they could produce
a large quantity of highly-
nutritious seaweed, which
they did. Growth exceeded
that of conventional crops
such as soybean and corn
and they produced large
quantities with consistently
good nutritional and amino
acid profiles.
One of the secrets is a
method called ‘tumble
culture’ where the water circulation keeps the seaweed rotating, or
‘tumbling’ over, exposing it to equal sunlight and nutrients.
The ingredients are all there for the growth of a local land-based seaweed
industry – high water quality of Puget Sound, proximity to an urban area,
mature marine food distribution networks and a proven growing procedure.
The practice could even be combined with other cultured marine seafood
like oysters or salmon for what’s called an integrated multi-trophic system
that mimics natural ecosystem processes and minimizes wastes and costs.
Learn more:
Spec ies
common name:
PACI F IC OYSTER
Sc ient i f ic name:
C ra s s os t re a g i g a s
Sou rce:
Aquacu lt u r e
Feeds :
None. Oy s t er s
feed on t he pl ank t on i n
t he su r round i ng wat er s .
Spec ies I nterac t ions :
None. No r epor t s of
negat i ve i nt er ac t ion s w it h ma r i ne mamma l s or
ot her s pec ie s w it h oy s t er f a rmi ng gea r.
Habi t at Impac t s :
Wh i le she l l f i sh f a rmi ng
may impos e some i n it i a l bent h ic d i s t u rbance ,
she l l f i sh—and t he gea r u s ed t o g row t hem—a r e
k nown t o c r eat e habit at for g r a s s e s and ot her
ma r i ne l i fe. She l l f i sh improve wat er qua l it y by
f i lt er i ng a l gae and ot her pa r t icu l at e mat t er.
Oy s t er bed s prov ide she lt er and habit at for
ot her s pec ie s . They a l so a r e found t o s t abi l i ze
coa s t l i ne s and he l p mi n imi ze impac t s f rom s t orm
su r ge s .
An ima l Hea l t h:
Oy s t er s a r e a hea lt hy prot e i n
sou r ce and cont a i n hea r t- and br a i n-hea lt hy
omega - 3 f at t y ac id s . The ma i n pat hogen of
concer n for bot h an ima l and human hea lt h i s
V i b r i o s p p .
Clos e mon it or i ng of f a rmed and w i ld
oy s t er s and a r ea c losu r e s , i f nece s s a r y, en su r e
t hat no cont ami nat ed produc t s a r e s ent t o ma rket
and t hat any i n fec t ed an ima l s a r e r emoved f rom
t he popu l at ion so pat hogen s a r e not s pr ead .
Check out
to learn
more about the complex science-based
management process actively sustaining
our seafood supply.
Did You Know?
The shellfish industry in Washington
state has the highest U.S. state
aquaculture payroll of $24.7 million,
representing 15% of total American
payroll? (Source: Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations).
Photo courtesy of NOAA.
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| SUNDAY,
SEPTEMBER 27, 2015
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