Harvesting deep-water seaweed

Seaweed harvesters gather the seaweeds of the rocky seabed from their boats: the kelp, called tali in Breton. There are several kinds of kelp, but it is mainly Laminaria digitata, or tali-moan, rich in iodine, that is sought after.

This harvest is reserved for professional seaweed sailors between March and October, in order to preserve the seaweed’s development cycle.

The tool used to cut the stipes of the kelp underwater is the guillotine, ar falz-c’hilhotin. It is a sickle fixed to the end of a long wooden handle.

Seaweed harvesters begin gathering on the rocky plateaus from mid-ebb tide onwards. When the tide rises and the current no longer allows cutting, the harvesters return with their boats heavily loaded.

A good tide represents around 2 to 3 tonnes of harvested seaweed. The trip back “full to the brim” can prove risky in strong winds, if the boat is too heavy.