Workers in northern Tunisia collect red seaweed knee-deep in the calm waters of a lagoon, in a country dubbed a Mediterranean “trailblazer” in cultivating the in-demand plant.
Red seaweed or algae is utilized as a gelling, thickening, and texturing agent in processed foods, as well as in cosmetics and medicines.
The harvest, the first on an industrial scale for the Selt Marine company, follows years of study and a more than two-decade wait for authorization to use the lagoons, according to French-Tunisian entrepreneur Mounir Bouklout.
Numerous countries, notably neighboring Morocco, have seen their natural supplies of red seaweed deplete in recent years as a result of overexploitation.
Meanwhile, near Bizerte, north of Tunis, 10% of harvested seaweed is returned to the sea, according to Bouklout, another seaweed expert.
“We wait for nature to do its work, and after 45 days we harvest it,” Bouklout told AFP.
Workers gather seaweed growing around cylindrical nets from the lagoon and carry it to shore, surrounded by wind turbine-topped hills.
The plant matter, which varies in color from green to dark red, is separated, sun-dried, and sent to a facility where it is processed into compounds such as agar-agar.
The highly sought-after red variety is mostly produced in Asia, which is the largest producer, user, and exporter of seaweed on the planet.
However, Tunisia’s waters and climate favour its farming, which may aid in the growth of indigenous marine life, especially shellfish.
“Seaweed absorbs elements like nitrogen and phosphorous, so growing it is also a way of naturally cleaning the lagoon“, Bouklout said.
