Hand-harvesting seaweed on the Irish Atlantic coast experienced an unexpected boost due to Covid-19, according to Canadian-owned seaweed company Arramara Teo.
Construction workers with coastal connections opted to supplement incomes on the shoreline, and there are now large quantities in storage, Arramara’s Europe director Jim Keogh has said.
The Connemara-based company plans to make a “significant” investment in upgrading its existing seaweed processing plant in Cill Chiaráín, Co Galway, Mr Keogh confirmed on Monday.
This will allow it to handle other types of seaweed for the health food and other markets, he said.
The investment to a “food grade” plant, believed to be under 0.5 million euro, will be funded through Arramara’s own resources.
Among the main species targeted will be Fucus vesiculosus or bladderwrack, a brown seaweed rich in iodine.
It grows alongside Ascophyllum nodosum or “feamainn bhuí” which harvesters currently supply for use in fertiliser and animal feed.
“Fucus vesiculosus grows back quicker than the Ascophyllum, which will give harvesters more options,” Mr Keogh said.
The company would also look at the potential of other inter-tidal species, such as dulse and carrageen, he said.
The company will be able to avail of international markets through Acadian’s extensive global network, Mr Keogh said.
Currently, harvesters are paid €55 a tonne for Ascophyllum nodosum.
Some 50 per cent of the Cill Chiaráin plant’s stock is sold on the domestic market, and 50 per cent goes for export, Mr Keogh said.
He confirmed there were large quantities still in storage due to this year’s bumper harvest, but this was a “normal” part of the cycle, he said.
The company, which employs 24 people directly, is currently on a three-day working week.
Arramara Teo, formerly State-owned, was founded in 1947 and was purchased by Canadian multinational Acadian Seaplants six years ago.
The planned upgrade at the Cill Chiaráin plant will take about four weeks and will begin February, Mr Keogh said.
“ This investment is one of the founding pieces in the planned operational expansion of Arramara Teo, which will have far-reaching economic benefits within the local community and west coast of Ireland,” he said.
