Shore seaweed, a professional harvest without machines

Shore seaweed is harvested on the foreshore at low tide, by hand or, more often, with a sickle. Only the ways of carrying it have been modernised over time.

For a long time this harvest was a seasonal activity for the people of the coast, but it has required an authorisation since 2001. In Brittany, 176 professional licences have been granted, mainly in the Côtes-d’Armor and Finistère.

Each year, around 4,900 tonnes of shore seaweed are harvested, across some thirty species. The main ones are Ascophyllum nodosum, used as a fertiliser, and Himanthalia elongata, used in food and cosmetics.

To protect the resource, a code of good practice for harvesting has been drawn up jointly by the professionals, the scientists and the local fisheries committee.