Sea Vegetable Cultivation in Indonesia

I recently found this video about sea vegetable cultivation in Indonesia. Although not a traditional cultivation mode (like land farming), sea vegetables are a new source of income for Indonesians. This is especially important because increased drought and over farming of the land has made traditional farming increasingly harder. Sea vegetables give these people chance to raise their standard of living.

Although this is great for the Indonesian economy, I'm concerned about water pollution, overcultivating, overharvesting, and their methods of growing. The seaweed cultivated in Indonesia is exported for use in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, ice cream and other food fillers, and countless other things. Because sea vegetables easily absorb pollution from the water, I'm concerned about the water pollution in these areas since Indonesia has a lot of environmental issues related to overpopulation and poverty.

I was also concerned to see that they are using plastic bottles to suspend the sea vegetables in the water for better growth and (maybe) easier harvesting. I wonder if sea vegetables can also absorb plastic particles?

Recreational Harvesting in California

I found this great article today by Alastair Bland and am still reading through all the interesting info in it. This is a section I wanted to share with everyone that I found particularly interesting about legal recreational harvesting of sea vegetables in California:

DIY kelp harvesting

Those interested in harvesting sea vegetables on their own may do so with nothing but a California fishing license and a very minimum of specialized equipment. The leafy ends of most algae and kelp are quite tender and make for the best eating; snip off the tips and leave the rest of the plant. Remember that state law forbids taking more than 10 wet pounds of seaweed per day per person.

As a general rule of thumb, most seaweeds are safe to eat. One variety, though, which resembles a feather boa, gives off a sulfury aroma, and when sun-dried, baked and eaten, it will fill your mouth with a thick, unpleasant burning paste that turns your teeth green. (Of course I've done it myself, and for days I dared not smile.)

Its was really interesting for me to learn that you need a CA fishing license in order to legally harvest sea vegetables as a recreational harvester! I checked the California Deparment of Fish and Game and it looks like someone would specifically need to get an Aquaculture Registration. Good to know... and especially good to know about the kind that turns your teeth green!