Canada: Coastal First Nation gets a taste of success with seaweed

Published May 17, 2021

Tridge summary

The Klahoose First Nation in British Columbia is partnering with Cascadia Seaweed to start seaweed farming, with the first crop of sugar kelp successfully harvested in April. This initiative aims to diversify the community's economy, provide job opportunities, and offer environmental benefits for shellfish operations. The high-quality crop will be developed into a specialty food item by Cascadia, while the test-run summer crop may be used for secondary manufacturing. The Klahoose plans to expand the operation and is receiving interest from other First Nations. The capital costs for the farm are not excessively high and the venture is sustainable and in line with a global movement towards seaweed farming.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

A small First Nation on the coast in B.C. is starting to reap the rewards of taking a risk on seaweed farming. The Klahoose First Nation is among the first coastal communities to partner with Cascadia Seaweed in an attempt to scale up kelp aquaculture along the West Coast. The partners seeded their first kelp lines at a couple Klahoose shellfish sites in the waters off Cortes Island in December. And this April, a bountiful crop of sugar kelp was hauled out of the waters above the Klahoose's seabed geoduck operation, said Bruno Pereira, manager of the nation's economic development arm, the Qathen Xwegus Management Corporation (QXMC). "We're really pleased. It grows like a weed," Pereira said, adding QXMC couldn't be happier with the fledgling operation and partnership. "We anticipated a fast pace of growth because around Cortes, we have these amazing, amazing waters." Cultivating seaweed allows the Klahoose to diversify economically, and make better use of its aquaculture assets in ...

Source: Nationalobserver