When is the best time to harvest seaweed?

I’m often asked when the best time to harvest seaweed is.

• It is important that you do not harvest a seaweed during its reproductive phase. This varies on a species to species basis.
• Rotating harvest areas is thought to be the least damaging to the ecosystem and allows seaweed stands to recover faster.
• Harvesting seaweed by hand using scissors is the most sustainable practice.

Look up the nutritional content of seaweed and you’ll soon discover that there’s a large discrepancy in the figures between one authority and another.

The reason for this is due to the seasonal and species-specific variations that occur in different seaweeds.

But I would advise collecting your seaweed, drying it and then storing it for later use.

Further reading

• The edible seaweeds of Britain and Ireland