Vegetables from the sea are a staple in many indigenous diets; they are often thought of as some of the very best food nature provides. Often used as a homeopathic remedy for regulating the thyroid, and used in small quantities to add flavor to rice and other foods, kelp is also used for treating joint problems and arthritis, and is offered in capsules and tablets, as well as in packaging conducive to culinary use. Once harvested only on a small scale, kelp is becoming more popular and is now being commercially harvested, particularly as alginates and kelp byproducts are being added to a variety of different products. Should we be concerned?
Kelp: What Is It?
Sometimes simply referred to as seaweed, kelp is part of the brown algae family and belongs to the order Laminariales. There are approximately 30 different kelp species growing in shallow, nutrient rich waters worldwide. Kelp grows very quickly; some of the giant kelp species can grow as quickly as half a meter each day. These plants are found primarily in water with temperatures between 43 and 57 degrees Fahrenheit, and, along with other marine plants, provide an estimated 70 to 80 percent of the world’s oxygen supply.
From the surface, kelp looks pretty unimpressive. All you might see from shore is the occasional blade of kelp lifting up as a wave moves through; and you might see some intact kelp lying on the beach from time to time, particularly after a strong storm. If you’ve ever dived a kelp forest though, you know that there’s an entire dimension to the organism – one that remains unseen, and one that many people are not aware of.
Some of the world’s richest ecosystems, kelp forests provide homes for marine life, large and small. Depending on the ecosystem where you dive, you could find sharks, kelpfish, bivalves, and all sorts of invertebrates thriving; in some places, diving birds and seals rely on kelp forests for a steady source of prey, and in a few places, particularly in California, endangered sea otters live in kelp forests.
Wild Kelp Harvest
Ancient people used kelp as a food source, and coastal civilizations hunted and fished in kelp forest areas, where game thrived in abundance. Later, it was discovered that burning kelp produced potash and soda, products that helped our ancestors produce products such as glass and soap, and which helped to fertilize fields. Evidence of this can be seen in the kelp pits of the Orkney Islands, where people toiled day in and day out to gather and burn the kelp so it could be distributed for use.
Today’s kelp harvests are designed to take advantage of the living plants, unlike nature-assisted harvests of the past; and, unfortunately some methods for harvesting kelp are unsustainable. In some places, large boats equipped with dredge equipment are used to gather the kelp, ripping it up in wide 4-meter swathes from the rocky seabed to which it clings, with little regard for the kelp forest’s occupants. Another method for harvesting kelp was first put into use in California, during the first world war, when potash derived from the kelp was used to manufacture gunpowder. This method involved encircling a stand of kelp with a massive cable, then pulling the cable taut to rip the entire kelp plant up out of the seabed. This method is no longer in widespread use and is actually illegal in the United States.
Fortunately, ecologists have convinced most commercial kelpers to embrace much less invasive methods for harvesting kelp; in some places, tugboats push barges fitted with cutting blades into the kelp forest, in essence mowing the tops of the kelp to a depth of about three feet; in well-regulated areas, no stand of kelp may be harvested more than three times per year, and kelp harvesting is not permitted during specific seasons, such as during the lobster spawning season. Some kelp is pulled up during this process, however it is not nearly as harmful as some other methods. Kelp harvesting in most places, particularly in California, where it is prevalent, is a well regulated industry.
Some small-scale kelp harvesters use hand harvesting methods; if you buy gourmet kelp for culinary uses, this is a great way to ensure you are getting high quality kelp from a producer who is extremely selective; hand harvested kelp tends to come from extremely pristine environments and is prized by connoisseurs.
Kelp harvested by hand and by mowing techniques is capable of regenerating itself; while the fronds don’t grow back, the stipe (the portion of the kelp that looks like a root) stays anchored and the kelp forest inhabitants are barely disturbed.
Kelp Farming
In some places where kelp demand is high, kelp farming is catching on; not only because kelp and kelp byproducts are so useful, but because kelp is seen as a potential source for ethanol, which we have begun to replace part of our fossil fuels with. As kelp has a very high growth rate, and as it can be raised without genetic modification, and without harmful chemical pesticides or fertilizers as corn crops for ethanol are being raised, it is clearly a much better choice for use in formulating biofuel. Not only is it better from a basic ecological standpoint, it is a much greener option than corn, which requires lots of fossil fuels to produce. Replacing corn crops with kelp crops means agricultural land can be used for food production, instead of for growing crop after crop of controversial corn.
With kelp farming, a large number of plants can be grown in a small area; basically, kelp farming is an intensive form of aquaculture that can actually promote the health of the ecosystem instead of detract from it. Kelp farming also keeps production costs low, and it is a good way for kelpers to reduce their own fuel consumption, besides.
Farmed or responsibly harvested kelp is an outstanding natural resource – one that can help make life better for humanity in many ways, be it as a source of healthy food, natural medicine, clean energy, green fertilizer, or as a natural additive used to replace harmful chemical additives. If you use kelp products, find out about how they are harvested in order to make the best choice for you and for the environment; taking a moment to learn about the kelp you use is the best way to stop unsustainable kelp harvest from occurring.