INTRODUCTION

Seaweeds have been exploited in Ireland since at least the 12th century. From the early 1700s, ash was extracted in kelp kilns on the west-coast and used in soap- and glass-making, as a fertiliser, and as a source of iodine. From the 1940s to the early 1990s, drift seaweed known as 'blackweed' was collected, dried and milled as a constituent of animal feed and for liquid seaweed extracts.

In the west of Ireland traditional handharvesting still takes place. Pictured here is a traditional "climini", a bundeled heap of knotted wrack (Ascophyllum nodosum).

Nowadays, however, fresh seaweed is harvested from unpolluted Irish shores and is used in a variety of Industries, e.g., Alginate Industry, Agriculture, Horticulture, Body care & Cosmetics, Sea vegetables, Thalassotherapy and biomedicine.

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