Photo Essay by Christopher Ludgate
Along oceanic shores and rocky seascapes exists an integral part of the planet’s vast marine ecosystem. Here, in this intercoastal environment, numerous species of this hearty algae family thrive in systematically formed symbiotic relationships.
Packed with a wealth of valuable nutrients, seaweed provides a crucial food source for all kinds of co-existing microbiology, including seabirds. And, for many foraging cultures around the globe, seaweeds are a cherished commodity for both gastronomy and wellbeing.
Learning a bit about the art and science of seaweed foraging was a hands-on immersion. One morning, while at Cambria’s cozy beachfront White Water Lodge along the California coast, a buddy and I rolled up our chinos, slid into some water shoes, and met aquaculture expert Spencer Marley, Founder of Marley Family Seaweeds.
Marley also has a partnership with Highway One’s Coastal Stewardship, which engages in sustainable travel initiatives. An experience beyond just getting our feet wet, our foraging experience culminated in firing up some of the best seaweed ramen we’d ever had, right there in the intercoastal habitat.
We jumped right into it on the Pacific Coast on a warm, gorgeous day with sea spray on our skin and cool water under toe.
Marley began with the essentials about this seaweed vagabond: “Similar to fungi, seaweed propagates by dropping spores into hosts, but it needs to form a chemical bond with something before they can grow out. This is what is called the holdfast.”
The holdfast and sunlight are essential for its growth.
“That is the root structure, a physical bond. But in order for that to happen, it essentially looks for things to safely adhere to in the intertidal environment, which is the area that’s submerged at a high tide and exposed at a low tide,” Marley continued.
Squatting into the sand, he explained how the spores drop and ideally stick to calcified shells. In this case, it’s almost like symbiosis, but the seaweed organisms benefit more. Alternatively, sea moss is a type of seaweed that more symbiotically hosts others in its plankton family.
“So there’s one right here,” Marley said, reaching into the tide, picking up a leafy holdfast of Hesperophycus Californicus, or Rockweed. This actually has 30 to 35 times the amount of vitamins and minerals that any terrestrial vegetable has. And it is so abundant!”
While rich in iodine, calcium, magnesium, potassium, trace minerals, Omega-3 fatty acids, and dietary fibre, it also provides powerful anti-inflammatory properties. This is one reason kelp supplements have long been popular.
Marley handed us a foraging blade and clippers, guiding us to be mindful to leave plenty of growth on the holdfast when clipping the rubbery leaves. We collected a variety of seaweeds, tossing the treasure into our net.
Abundance is a key word in foraging this oceanic gift. Sustainable foraging means never taking without looking around, asking: Is there plenty of its kind in the area, or should we let it be?
After all, it is crucial to keep our relationship with seaweed symbiotic, too.
Seaweed foraging in a clean place away from big industry ensures its organic purity. Guidebooks and plant scanner apps are useful, but local fishing authorities are also a great resource to ensure harvesting is permitted.
The Culture
For some human cultures, like the Japanese and Welsh, seaweed has been both foraged and even harvested for thousands of years, becoming interwoven in their cultural gastronomy as well as self-sufficiency.
“What the Japanese figured out was that they could harvest it. They would make these big wooden vats, and take flax or hemp fibre rope, coil it in the vat, and then just dump a bunch of the Nori in there, change out the water, and wait,” Marley explained.
“They look at the bones of ancient people, and they had internal seaweed traces in the carbon dating. Essentially, people were eating seaweed in Canton, or Guangzhou is what it’s called now, but this was three thousand years ago.”
It requires an understanding of cellular biology, which they had no education in as there is today, but there they were, seaweed foraging, and then developing seaweed farming.
So there’s some insight into your sushi roll.
The Cook
Just shy of the tide, Marley set up his kitchen, lit up his Coleman stovetop, and began chopping onions and herbs. The fragrance from the sauté pan mingled with the salty air invitingly as he poured fresh water in, followed by the Nori and Kombu, which quickly turned the most vibrant, electric chlorophyll green.
“That’s how we know it’s done,” Marley informed as he dropped dried ruffled ramen into the boiling water.
And voila! A sumptuous bowl of ramen and chopsticks appeared before me. It felt like a noodle-y tonic going down, something my body instantly responded to, quite satisfied.
When the forage is done, it is important to thoroughly rinse, being mindful not to wash the salt and minerals off. Not as high in sodium as many assume, seaweed can be a source of salt in your kitchen. When thoroughly air-dried in the sun, crumble and grind with toasted sesame for a nutritious seasoning.
Beyond seaweed’s nutritional value in the kitchen, harvested seaweed has recently proven to have a significant, unexpected role in replacing environmentally harmful plastics, which could dramatically improve the environment.
Christopher Ludgate is a writer, photographer, and award-winning filmmaker. With tailor-made itineraries beyond the ordinary, his travel stories combine culture, wellness, the outdoors, luxury, and history. He’s a longtime advocate for holistic health and animal rights as well as an avid gardener, cook, and cat dad.