
Dossier
Seaweed
There is an increasing interest within Western Europe for the cultivation of seaweed as a resource for feed, bio-stimulants for soil and crops, and as a bio-feedstock. The fact that the cultivation of seaweed requires no farmland and that many types grow in salt or brackish water are distinct advantages. As yet, the cultivation of seaweed in the Dutch waters is limited, but in the coming decades more wind farms will be developed in the North Sea with opportunities for a combination with large-scale seaweed cultivation. Seaweed is already cultivated extensively in Asian countries, but the production methods are not always sustainable. Wageningen University & Research (WUR) works on sustainable seaweed cultivation technology, explicitly targeting the North Sea area.
Topics on which our efforts focus are:
- The economic and technological feasibility of large-scale cultivation of seaweed
- Spatial requirements and the effects on the marine ecosystem
- The development of sustainable cultivation methods and seaweed breeding
- The processing of harvested biomass and development of bio-refinery and fermentation technology
- Development of sales channels and business cases
- Taking stock of risks, for example regarding food safety
Our research is project-based. Funding is provided by, among others, the European Union, the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Safety, TKI-Agri&Food and the business and seaweed sectors.
News 2016-2020
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Seaweed as a sustainable food source
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Car drives 80 kilometres on fuel from seaweed
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Unique innovation challenge for universities of technology
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Crickets and seaweed as meat substitutes? Mansholt lecture 2019 focussed on protein transition
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Insects, seaweed wraps and vegan ice cream on the shelves at Lidl
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A future-proof diet with future foods
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Winners Wageningen Borlaug Youth Institute go to Des Moines, USA
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Innovative consumers more willing to buy foodstuffs containing seaweed
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Seaweed as sustainable food for people and animals
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New partnership between Wageningen University & Research, TNO and Lloyd’sRegister Foundation to study safety at sea
Reports and articles
- Report: Development of Offshore Seaweed Cultivation: food safety, cultivation, ecology and economy - Mar 2019
- Report: A Triple P review of the feasibility of sustainable offshore seaweed production in the North Sea - Sep 2013
- Farming at sea - Sustainable seaweed Published in Wageningen World no. 3 2011
Publications
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Ulva spp. performance and biomitigation potential under high nutrient concentrations : implications for recirculating IMTA systems
Journal of Applied Phycology (2022). - ISSN 0921-8971 -
Proteolytic enzyme-treated seaweed co-product (Ulva laetevirens) inclusion in corn-soybean and European broiler diets to improve digestibility, health, and performance
Poultry Science 101 (2022)6. - ISSN 0032-5791 -
A reversal of defaults: Implementing a menu-based default nudge to promote out-of-home consumer adoption of plant-based meat alternatives
Appetite 175 (2022). - ISSN 0195-6663 -
Payment for ecosystem services provided by mussels, oysters and seaweed: Dataset on exploring mechanisms to pay for ecosystem services provided by mussels, oysters and seaweed
: Wageningen University & Research -
1s5: Seaweed extracts to boost crop productivity under stress conditions
In: Circular@WUR 2022. - : Wageningen University & Research -
1s4: Modelling seaweed cultivation on the dutch continental shelf
In: Circular@WUR 2022. - : Wageningen University & Research -
1s4: Suitability of world seas and oceans for seaweed cultivation
In: Circular@WUR 2022. - : Wageningen University & Research -
A proteolytic enzyme treatment to improve Ulva laetevirens and Solieria chordalis seaweed co-product digestibility, performance, and health in broilers
Poultry Science 101 (2022)5. - ISSN 0032-5791 -
Seaweed cultivation in Vietnam for livestock methane reduction : A Top Sector Agri & Food SMP (Seed Money Project) report
Wageningen : Stichting Wageningen Research, Wageningen Plant Research, Business Unit Agrosystems Research (Report / Stichting Wageningen Research, Wageningen Plant Research, Business Unit Agrosystems Research WPR-1131) - ISBN 9789464471465 - p. -
Seasonal variation in productivity, chemical composition and nutrient uptake of Ulva spp. (Chlorophyta) strains
Journal of Applied Phycology 34 (2022)3. - ISSN 0921-8971 - p. 1649 - 1660.