When collecting seaweed, selectively cut or thin. Do not take all the seaweed in one area. If rocks are left bare of seaweeds or covered with cut stipes, important habitat is destroyed. Very few seaweeds are able to regenerate from the stipe alone. Many small animals live at the base and on the holdfast, so to provide continued habitat and protection, the lower portion of the frond should not be harvested.
Alaria marginata, an olive brown kelp often known as wakame, should only have the top portion harvested and care should be taken not to overharvest. Look for oval-shape blades near the base of the stipe and cut above these, as they are needed to be left intact for sustainable harvesting. Let’s all do a better job collecting our seaweeds.
Sandy Barclay