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ABOUT...ACROSS CANADAAND...RESOURCES |
MARINE PLANT AQUACULTURE
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Marine plants, wild or farmed, are used for food as well as in the textile, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and biotechnological industries. For example, seaweeds can be used as a source of food, dried and pressed into flat sheets for sushi recipes; for cosmetic purposes such as spa treatments as it is rich in minerals and enzymes; and as a fertilizer. Industrial uses of seaweed include extraction of pigments (phycocolloids) and, to a much lesser extent, certain fine biochemicals.
Federal, provincial and territorial governments monitor marine plant aquaculture operations to ensure that farms operate responsibly. The British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, has jurisdiction over marine plant harvest in British Columbia, as does the provincial Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development in Alberta while Fisheries and Oceans Canada, in conjunction with the provinces, control marine plant harvest in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada.
The purpose of this webpage is to feature marine plant aquaculture, a segment of the aquaculture industry that is not that well known. This page is a work in progress and material will be regularly posted as it becomes available.
The following species of marine plants are the main species grown in British Columbia’s aquaculture industry:
| Common Name | Scientific Name |
|---|---|
| Alaria | Alaria marginata |
| Brown Algae | Costaria costata |
| Green Algae | Enteromorpha spp. |
| Red Algae | Gelidium |
| Kombu | Laminaria saccharina |
| Groenlandica | Laminaria groenlandica |
| Giant Kelp | Macrocystis integrifolia |
| Bull Kelp | Nereocystis luetkeanna |
| Nori | Porphyra spp. |
| Sea Lettuce | Ulva lactuca |
Source: http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/fisheries/licences/species_list.htm (June 2/06)
The following species of marine plants are the main marine plant species cultured in Atlantic Canada.
| Common Name | Scientific Name |
|---|---|
| Irish Moss | Chondrus crispus |
| Knotted wrack | Ascophyllum nodosom |
Currently, four companies in Canada are cultivating marine plants commercially. Three of these companies farm red algae in land based aquaculture systems. The most successful marine plant culturing operation in British Columbia is cultivating Gelidium, a type of red algae, for the bacteriological agar market. Agar is a substance that is used in the culture of bacteria and other microorganisms, used mostly used in laboratories, For instance, petri plates are lined with agar gels and incubated. Hospital laboratories frequency use agar plates to identify types of infectious bacteria. Agar plates are also used for other biological studies of fungi, bacteria and viruses.
Commercial harvest of marine plants on the East Coast of Canada is over half a century old. The most important species for many years was Irish Moss harvested for a pigment called carrageenan, which is widely used as a suspending, thickening, stabilizing, and emulsifying agent in food, particularly dairy products. Currently, the largest commercial industry in the Nova Scotia is the harvest of knotted wrack in southern Nova Scotia for the production of liquid fertilizer.
Note: This page contains links to Web sites not under the control of the Government of Canada. For further information on our hyperlinking practices, please refer to the Hyperlinking Notice.
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Last Updated : 2006-06-28 |
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