© The Seaweed Company
Sheltered, nutrient rich, and cold, Mulroy Bay in Donegal has all the characteristics needed for successful seaweed farming. Taking advantage of this is The Seaweed Company – an Irish company which has used EU funding to establish a kelp farm within the bay, as well as Ireland’s first dedicated seaweed processing facility, in Donegal.
“Mulroy Bay is perfect for the production of seaweed. We have very cold waters in which species such as Alaria thrive. The bay is also very sheltered and often referred to as ‘fjord-like,’ long and winding, and protected from the open waters, which is an ideal setting for aquaculture,” said Lorraine Gallagher, general manager of the seaweed processing facility, as reported by the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.
The close proximity of the Seaweed Company’s farm and processing facility means that the company’s kelp products can be processed, dried, and packaged less than three hours after harvesting.
“Without EU-funding, this project would not have been possible. The funding has allowed us to scale-up our production as well as develop our new processing facility which allows us to dry the seaweed quickly so it can be transported and used in food production,” said Gallagher.
Whilst the processing facility currently produces kelp primarily as a meat substitute which can be added to products such as burgers, future plans include the development of a variety of ambitious seaweed-based food products, including seaweed chocolates and soft drinks.
Gallagher, whose family has a longstanding history of seafood production within the Bay, emphasises the importance of local knowledge in scaling up the business, and represents a key example of the successful diversification of seafood producers into emerging practices such as kelp farming.
"Through my father, we have the best local expert available to us. He is a custodian of the bay, and his knowledge is irreplaceable as we grow the Seaweed Company business here in Ireland," she concluded.
