Having harvested our first harvest in May this year, it feels only so short ago we were out on the water to get the harvest in. A lot happened in the meanwhile! We became part of the European Seaweed Association, we explored collaborations with scientists and we actually started to take part in two consortia for collaboration with science. One with an Ireland based leading University on the topic of low tropic aquaculture and diversifying into other low tropic species like oysters and mussels, while using regenerative practices. The other with a local university in Borås, on the topic of highly specialized and more sustainable polymers, to be used in climate neutral transport.
´It’s important to us to contribute to scientific development and at the same time, be grounded in the local community where we operate our farm´
Partnerships and our community
As you can read from these two examples, the array of potential uses and approaches to seaweed are immense, and these collaborations help us to become even more energized about growing our crops in the water, and reaching out to both local, national and international partners to collaborate. We are also thankful that we were approached by the business association in Kärna (Nätverk för Företagare i Kärna) to become part of what they do. We feel this is fantastic, as it helps us to become more grounded in our community, one of the pillars that underpins what we do with Swedish Seaweed.
Inspecting the farm after storm Amy
On the last Sunday in October, Laurens and Emiel went out on the water, together with our new partner, Mikael Söder from Destination Hav Bohuslän AB. We had to map out the situation on the farm after storm Amy. Using the sailboat of Mikael we were able to assess the damage up-close and found that indeed one of the buoys in our farm is missing. Furthermore we found a rope entangled on one of our markers buoys. The damage seems minor, and we trust that we can repair the damage when putting in the seedling next week. After the assessment on the water, we went back to the harbor and took a nice cup of coffee in the boat, to make a plan for the next week.
Planting preparation
On Sunday the 2nd of November we did all the preparations for the planting of our second seasons. Marcel attended the North Sea Seaweed conference in Rotterdam, so was not able to join our planting activities this year, but will join for the harvesting in May.
We started early, as in the morning no rain was expected. Inge had picked up the seedlings in Strömstad the night before, so we were all set for the preparations. Using the experience of last year we improved drastically on the knotting and winding approach, and made sure to treat the seedlings as gently as possible.
Planting our 2nd outcrop
On monday morning, with all the preparations done, we went out to the farm quite early. With our local partner that helps with transport, Burås Bygg AB, we got to work quickly. First of all fixing the damage to the farm by lifting some of our floating buoys and re-attaching some of the shackles, ensuring good connection and solid preparation for any autumn storms that might be heading our way.
Planting the actual seedling lines was thereafter a breeze, with good coordination of Laurens, good knotting work by Mikael, solid muscle work of Inge and Emiel and an overall great teamwork. At the end of the morning we were back in the harbor, very satisfied with the work done and the solid preparations for the next growing season.
Make sure you keep posted on the developments and harvest in May and sign-up for our newsletter!
Put your e-mail address below and follow us on LinkedIn.