Massive seaweed blob reduced by 75 percent; Sea Monsters launches seaweed snack across 1,000 US retail locations

SeafoodSource is closely following seaweed innovation by compiling a regular round-up of updates from the sector.

- The 5,000-mile-wide seaweed blob that has been spreading across the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico has shrunk significantly, CNN reported. Scientists at the University of South Florida’s Optical Oceanography Lab have been keeping close tabs on the seaweed blob and reported it has been reduced by 75 percent, meaning there will be less seaweed washing ashore on Florida beaches this summer than initially expected. 

“Should be good news to the residents living in the Florida Keys and east coast of Florida as well as in the west coast of the CS,” a University of South Florida Optical Oceanography Lab report found.

- High water in Lake Okeechobee, located in the U.S. state of Florida, may force the u.S. Army Corps of Engineers to release water into canals and toward coastal regions, The New York Times reported. 

The lake has recently been suffering from toxic algae blooms, which release lung-burning fumes due to rotting mats of algae and bacteria. If the Army Corps of Engineers is forced to release water, the algae blooms may spread downstream, but it said it's doing its best to protect the ecological health of the regions downstream.

“While I can’t promise that there won’t be high releases later this year due to the inherent uncertainty of Mother Nature, we will do our best to avoid them, if possible,” Corps Colonel James Booth said.

- New York City-based Sea Monsters announced the expansion of its seaweed-based Seaweed Puffs to retailers to 1,000 stores across the U.S. this summer, including Sprouts, Harris Teeter, and Kum & Go. Sea Monsters snacks will be sold in approximately 400 Sprout locations and 400 Kum & Go locations over the next three months, the company said in a press release. 

- Schiedam, South Holland, The Netherlands-based The Seaweed Company announced its participation in the Re-Ge-NL program with the Advisory Committee of the National Growth Fund. The program has received a conditional grant of EUR 129 million (USD 141 million), according to a LinkedIn post from the Next Food Collective.

“This program is intended to strengthen the sustainable earning power of the Netherlands and to support the Dutch Agro-Food sector in becoming a leading example for the global transition to regenerative agriculture,” the Next Food Collective wrote. 

Photo courtesy of L Paul Mann/Shutterstock