Subsidies and support needed to help Scotland’s seaweed industry – report

Government subsidy and support will be “necessary” to establish seaweed farming as a new industry for Scotland’s coastal communities, a new report has said.

The research found that Scotland’s seas are “ideal for cultivation of seaweeds such as kelp”, with interest in kelp farming “rapidly expanding” as a way of creating a sustainable and alternative livelihood.

However, the study, published by the Sustainable Inshore Fisheries Trust (Sift), warned there are “major barriers to development” of seaweed farming and new businesses in the sector can face “daunting tasks”

One of the areas identified as being “necessary to facilitate development of the seaweed cultivation industry in Scotland” is government subsidy and support specifically for the kelp farming industry.

Sift executive director Charles Millar said: “Ministers have a unique opportunity to establish a new and potentially valuable part of Scotland’s marine economy, which benefits coastal communities and the coastal environment.”

Since 2018 applications have been lodged for seaweed farms covering more than two million square metres of Scottish coastal waters.

Mr Millar cautioned the “folly of other nations” must not be repeated, either by the over-exploitation of wild stocks or by allowing a “small handful of multi-nationals to dominate”, as he said had happened in the salmon farming sector.

As well as a need for government subsidy and support, the report identified investment in and the development of processing facilities as being key, along with improved organisation and co-operation between kelp farmers.

The report said: “The Scottish Government could help co-operation by providing kelp farmers with funds to create voluntary ‘producers organisations’ or ‘farmer-owned processing companies’, which would allow farmers to strengthen their market position and overcome supply chain bottlenecks.”

Mr Millar said: “If Scotland wants to have a successful seaweed industry, which benefits from the potential multi-billion market identified recently by Seaweed for Europe, then it will have to invest.

“What is needed is a concerted effort by both industry and government to develop the infrastructure required to make Scotland a world leader in the cultivation, processing and marketing of food, feedstuff, pharmaceutical and other seaweed-based products.”

Report author Dr Kyla Orr, who is also one of the founders of the KelpCrofting seaweed farming business in Skye, said that seaweed cultivation “has a substantial potential to bring skilled jobs and economic opportunities to Scotland’s coastal communities”.

She added: “The risk is that we repeat the mistakes of the past. Too often, proposed new industries, like both salmon farming and the now-abandoned mechanical harvest of wild kelp, have been driven by short term financial assessments which favour the cheaper projects, irrespective of their consequences.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We recently published a report outlining future options for the Scottish seaweed industry.

“This review highlighted the need for comprehensive policy and robust legislation around planning and licensing of the sector to ensure the clear economic opportunities it represents can be developed in an environmentally sustainable way.

“We aim to work with the sector to articulate a strategic vision for its future and to that end Marine Scotland Directorate is to fund a development post within the industry to support the growth ambitions of the Scottish seaweed sector.

“We will review this new report and take into consideration its findings as we work to ensure that existing and emerging seaweed activities fit into our broader framework for managing multiple uses of the sea, including fishing and renewable energy.”