Atlantic Dulse Seaweed Harvesting
Premium Wildcrafted Atlantic Dulse Seaweed
Atlantic Dulse Seaweed Harvesting has been common place in the pristine water’s surrounding the Aran Islands and Connemara on the west coast of Ireland. The mighty Atlantic Ocean has 3000KM of open sea before reaching Irish shores, giving it the most unobstructed, unfarmed and un-commercialised expanse of water on the planet. This creates the perfect environment to grow the highest quality Dulse Flakes & Dulse Powder seaweed in the world.
Irelands West Coast is Frequently Monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency
Management of Ireland’s transitional and coastal waters is a European wide instruction in the “Water Framework Directive” (WFD). Supervision is carried out by each country's government agencies. We are fortunate that the marine environment where we harvest is monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and managed by several other government agencies. The coastline is scientifically tested and studies are carried out for any changes in the marine environment ecosystems. EPA Monitoring &Assessment
Irelands West Coast Marine Ecology Status is A Grade
The ecological status of the surface water in the Aran Islands and Connemara coastline of Ireland receives the highest mark available; the grading is set by the European WFD classification. A high classification grade essentially means there is no pollution evident or signs of human stress present in the marine environment. This ensures that the water where we harvest our seaweed is exceptional. Coastal Water Report
With A Purpose Built Approved Food Grade Facility & the Latest in Seaweed Drying Technology
Island Seaweed harvest’s seaweed the traditional way; however we have improved significantly on the older style, sun drying technique. We dry our seaweed in a government approved food grade facility using the latest dehumidification drying technology. We have developed and improved the drying process to produce a premium grade food ingredient that contains a higher nutrient content each and every time. We do not use the sun to dry the seaweed because it can at times unevenly dry and can spoil more easily. We can tailor your product requirements and deliver seaweed to you at the desired moisture content.
Experience In Seaweed Harvesting, Food & Multinational Sectors
The team at Island Seaweed are an established multi skilled team of professionals working together to meet your needs across all areas of our business. Across our team we have a professional chef with 20 experience in the food industry, qualified Finance and ICT professionals, alongside respected traditional seaweed harvesters who have worked the coastal areas as long back as the mid-1940s and who continue to offer experience and valuable advice in this industry.
Ireland boasts the highest ecological marine status
In the year 2000 the European Commission set out a directive which included the island of Ireland to monitor, protect and enhance if required the quality of the waterways. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) also works in conjunction with other directives such as the Natura 2000 which protects wildlife and habitats in our coastal communities.
I remember over 30 years ago when I used to go with my mother and grandfather back to the big ponds at the end of the island when the water was very low to forage for dulse and carraigin during the long summer days. To now know that the quality of our seas have stayed much the same since that time is remarkable, and something that is now protected by law is something that we are very proud of here in Island Seaweed.
Atlantic Dulse - Made in Ireland
Ireland has a rich history of being a safe food nation that produces high quality and high value food products. Island Seaweed can provide the exact record of our seaweed origin that is simply not possible in commercial seaweed products.
We provide certified organic premium seaweed that is hand harvested from the unpolluted and pristine waters surrounding the Aran Islands and Connemara. Unlike commercial industrial processors, our product is not over-harvested and is therefore sustainable. We also recognise the importance of food safety so that we can track and trace all seaweed by way of a traceability system. This ensures that we can identify the exact location where all of our produce are being harvested from and to where and who we deliver the seaweed to.
There is only one ingredient in all of our products and that is 100% pure and natural seaweed. We do not modify the seaweed product in any way, we simply harvest, dry and package, It really is that simple!
Our pristine harvesting locations
Ireland has always had a strong connection to water, whether it be rain or ocean sea water. Most, if not all, Irish home-grown industries have built their businesses around the use of safe and clean water. Rain water is critical to our nations farming businesses just like our unpolluted sea water’s are to our aquaculture and commercial fisheries. Ireland is well regarded to be clean and green.
Growing up on Inis Mor, one of the three islands that make up the Aran Islands, it was common place to observe families collecting seaweed during the low water tide, moving bales of beach combed seaweed to a stone wall to allow the sun to dry the kelp roots called “slati mara”. There would be bundles of seaweed all over the island stone walls at times of heavy storms from the Atlantic. Once the seaweed was dry enough, it was then shipped to the mainland where seaweed was sold to buyers; this was a source of income to local families on the island. At that time the seaweed roots were being shipped to Scotland where natural iodine was extracted from the dried seaweed at an industrial scale.
Ireland’s west coast has always produced superior seaweed due to having no big industry on the coast whatsoever. The main industries on the west coast of Ireland have mostly always been small coastal fishing communities, tourism in the last 20 years and over the last few decades there is also a thriving aquaculture shellfish industry in the sixteen kilometer long Fjord of Killary harbor. Island Seaweed are confident that we can source our seaweed from one of the cleanest places in the world today.
Sustainable seaweed harvesting practices
I reflect and think back to when Eoin and I were born and raised on the rugged island of Inis Mor. Together we spent our younger years helping our dad when he fished lobsters and crabs from a small boat, and during hard times we would go picking periwinkles and of course seaweed. You begin to develop a sense of responsibility for your surroundings and take measures to ensure that care is directed at the very thing that keeps you alive, and in this case it’s the ocean sea water that surrounds our tiny island in the mighty north Atlantic. This is something that sticks to you later in life. Only take from what is in abundance.
We carry this tradition to our sustainable harvesting methods to respect the sea and land, by allowing sea plants and animal life to thrive year after year. Using our keen understanding of the life cycles of the seaweed that grow off the coast of the Aran Islands and Connemara, we select the ideal seasonal harvesting time to ensure a nutrient-rich produce while using traditional hand-harvesting techniques to ensure a healthy and vibrant regrowth year after year.
Ireland’s coastal communities have been harvesting seaweed for both personal and commercial uses for over many, many years and today the seaweed resource is still vibrant as it was all those years ago. This is something that you learn from your parents, grandparents and communities that make a living of the sea. It is now our time to ensure that we keep this directed focus on sustainability and only select the seaweed that is ready for harvest. Seaweed not only provides a source of food consumption, it also provides an ecosystem for sea creatures to thrive as they live among the kelp forests.
