Cornwall seaweed farms back on track

Despite enlisting celebrity firepower, campaigners have not (yet) managed to stop plans for the UK’s biggest seaweed farm, as Sandy Neil reports.

Plans for two giant “no waste” seaweed farms off the north coast of Cornwall are back on the go with the authorities even after huge local objection, as the area’s MP asks ministers to ensure communities are consulted amid a “surge” of applications.

Biome Algae alongside Camel Fish Limited filed a double application with the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) for two 50-hectare seaweed farms in Port Quin Bay, between Polzeath and Port Isaac, in July 2023, with a 50-year licence running until 2073.

The Cornwall-based applicants say the cultivated seaweed, native to the UK, will provide food, low-carbon animal feed, fertiliser, and biomaterials to replace single-use plastic and take-away cartons.

Moreover, they add, farming seaweed does not require freshwater, land, feed, fertilisers, does not produce waste, and can sequester carbon at a rate six times that of trees, as well as restore habitat and increase marine life.

Each would deploy 144 160-metre longlines in the bay during September over two to three years, with seeded lines installed in October and early November each year, when sea temperatures are favourable. Harvesting would take place annually in April or May, when growth is maximised but biofouling is avoided. Over 1,720 buoys with marker lights on at night would be installed.

Seaweed

The original applications did not receive any objection, which campaigners said was due to no-one locally knowing about it. The applicants had advertised their project, as requested by the MMO, in a local newspaper (Cornish Post), in Fishing News, and on Padstow Marina notice board, in October.

However, after further consideration, the MMO concluded the public notice did not bring the application to the attention of people likely to be interested in it. So it asked the applicant to undertake a second public consultation between 16 February until 15 March 2024, during which it received “a large volume of public representations” – more than 712, according to local reports, with 94.9% in opposition.

The issues, the MMO explained, related to the entanglement of marine mammals, impacts on seabird colonies and local fishermen, use of the bay as an anchorage, damage to the gear, and the visual impact of buoys on the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Cornwall-loving celebrities also came out in support of a campaign. Andrew Lincoln, star of The Walking Dead and Love, Actually, also waded in. The actor, who has a house near Tregardock which overlooks the bay, said: “As a surfer I always believed the sea is free; well, apparently not. It can be privatised and commercialised on an industrial scale without even consulting any locals.”

Dr Angela Mead

Celebrities vs seaweed
Dr Angela Mead, Biome Algae’s founder and CEO, said: “Both applications have been progressing through the formal channels in place and will continue to do so. As responsible operators we have and will provide regulatory bodies with a range of reports that assess plans in relation to the environment.

“Both Biome and Camel Fish’s intentions are not to harm the marine environment. We will add positively to the local economy, provide career opportunities and support education. Lighting on the farms will be the minimum required for navigational safety.

“It has been demonstrated that sustainable seaweed farming helps restore our marine environments. The seaweed itself has great potential to address a number of planetary issues such as replacing oil-based plastics, food security and net zero.”

After reviewing all the evidence from consultees, the MMO gave the applicants 42 days to respond to further information requests (FIRs) relating to marine mammal entanglement and the Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) – which they did, on the day of the deadline, 13 June.

But the MMO did not consider the submissions sufficient to fulfil the initial requests. Therefore, it placed the applications on hold and asked for more information to satisfy the FIRs within 14 days. If the applicants were unable to do so by 23 July, the MMO would issue a final seven-day “minded to refuse to proceed” letter. If a response was still not forthcoming, the MMO would reject the applications.

Save Our Bays campaigner and local resident Barnaby Kay cautiously welcomed the news. “It’s the beginning of the end for the project,” he said. “It isn’t a guarantee of victory for the campaigners, but we can’t see how Biome Algae can satisfy the MMO in the next 14 days, in which case the MMO will move to reject. We are not organising a party yet, but we’re beginning to think about it.”

However, they soon had to postpone planning any celebrations, because an MMO update said the applicants’ responses had been submitted on 23 July – and accepted. After a detailed review, the MMO will update its HRA, and reconsult consultees and the public.

Biome Algae and Camel Fish said they had “responded in full” to the MMO FIRs, and would “continue to comply with and work through the legal MMO framework related to the marine licence applications.

“The latest proposed public consultation round will enable the local community to consider information provided by the applicants in response to concerns they have raised.”

Mr Kay, backed by the local North Cornwall MP, Lib Dem Ben Maguire, local scientists and environmental campaigners, sent an open letter to the Labour Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed. “The MMO now states that there will be a further public consultation period,” it said. “This is devastating for the local community, who cannot afford the cost, the hours, or the impact on their mental health of repeating this process.

“The issue is that there is a lack of experience, regulation and governance in marine planning, and as a result the MMO has been overwhelmed by the unprecedented surge in applications over the last two years, and are considering and granting long licences for vast, untested farm infrastructures.

“We do believe there is a place for seaweed production in the UK, likely further offshore and away from protected species and sustainable fisheries.”

In September Mr Maguire also asked Parliament to debate the issue of seaweed farm applications in his constituency, in particular “making sure the MMO properly informs, involves and consults with communities when processing marine licences for seaweed farms”. Certainly more people are now aware of the plans off Cornwall’s picturesque coast.

Coastal footpath, Port Quin

Community company shortlisted for Innovation award
Across the Bristol Channel in Wales, the pioneering Câr-y-Môr seaweed and shellfish farm in Pembrokeshire has been shortlisted for a prestigious BBC Food & Farming Award, in the Food Innovation category.

Câr-y-Môr, the first commercial seaweed and shellfish farm in Wales, was chosen from thousands of nominations by an expert panel of judges led by celebrity chef and broadcaster, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

It employs zero input farming methods, which use no fertiliser, pesticides, or freshwater. Its goal is to improve the coastal environment and the well-being of the local community, stimulate jobs and give people a route into the Welsh seafood sector.

“This incredible recognition wouldn’t have been possible without our amazing community of gatherers and fishermen who provide us with the finest Welsh seafood, and our dedicated team who carefully harvest seaweed from our ocean farms, as well as process the shellfish in the early hours of the morning,” said Câr-y-Môr. “Together, we are driving sustainable practices and celebrating the bounty of our beautiful Welsh coast.”

The winners of the BBC Food & Farming Awards will be announced on 2 December in Glasgow.