DENMARK
in winter and others in summer. The product from the hatchery is brought back to the place of origin of the spores on lines and spends the next 3-5 weeks on shore before being introduced into the sea. The lines are attached to ropes that are suspended in the water and the seaweed is allowed to grow for about six months from October to March. From March to May the seaweed is harvested. The first crop is the best and is used for human consumption. If the lines are left in the water it is possible to get a second crop, but the quality is inferior and it can only be used for feed or as a source of bioactive ingredients.
Markets around Europe beckon Nordisk Tang uses seven different species of seaweed based on their flavour, the ease with which they can be accessed, and the colour. As Mr Ottesen says, the product must appeal to the eye as well as to the palate and so it is important to have different colours of seaweed in, for example, the pesto. Now that it has persuaded people in Denmark to eat its products the company is looking at expanding sales abroad, initially in the neighbouring countries, Sweden, Norway, and Germany, where a shop has just been opened in
Berlin, but in time also Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. In the long term, Kristian Ottesen, who has spent some eight years in China, would like to sell his
products there, where he feels an ancient tradition for eating seaweed combined with enthusiasm for European food products will help his case.
Nordisk Tang Grenaa Denmark Tel.: +45 33 603 603 info@nordisktang.dk nordisktang.dk Director: Kristian S. Ottesen Products: Seaweed-containing products including pesto, flour, mustard, and salt
Employees: 10 Sales: Delicatessen shops in Denmark Current markets: Denmark, Germany Target markets: Scandinavia, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands
Fisheries Local Action Group Djursland Fighting for a sustainable coastal fishery
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support from the FLAG because it fits well in the FLAG’s strategy, and because it has shown how it can rapidly create jobs. Kattegat Seaweed is another startup, but one that sees potential at the start of the seaweed valuechain. It is planning to produce seaweed by cultivating it and by harvesting wild stocks. Kattegat Seaweed too has benefited from funding from the FLAG. In this case for a project to convert a vessel so that it could be used to harvest seaweed. Companies like these not only bring employment, but they give work to people such as fishermen, who have the right skills, yet who have lost their original livelihood. Supporting projects like those initiated by Nordisk Tang and Kattegat Seaweed will create sustainable jobs and sustainable growth in the area, which is one of the objectives of the FLAG, says Ms Breindahl. If we strengthen the value chain locally, we keep the jobs. Fishermen have
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Helle Bøge Breindahl
A peninsula on the eastern coast of Jutland on the doorstep of Denmark’s second largest city, Aarhus, Djursland comprises the municipalities of Syddjurs and Norddjurs. Under the European Fisheries Fund the first FLAG Djursland was established in 2007, while the second, under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, started in 2014 and only covers the municipality of Norddjurs. The vision of the FLAG is to make Norddjurs an area with an active and thriving commercial and social life in the towns and villages throughout the municipality. Projects that contribute to achieving this vision will be supported by the FLAG. Helle Breindahl, the FLAG coordinator, says that the FLAG, has three main focus points, the coastal fishery, which gets half the available support, marine resources, and tourism, each of which gets a quarter. Nordisk Tang has benefited from
Fishermen are a store of local knowledge that will be lost to the community if the coastal fishery fails to thrive, something that the FLAG is working hard to prevent.
important local knowledge that we need to keep in the community. If the coastal fishery shrinks and fishers can no longer work, their knowledge of local fishing areas and their skills as fishermen and as sailors will be lost. However, companies like Kattegat Seaweed create opportunities
for fishermen, for example, to harvest seaweed instead of fish, thus giving the fishers new ways to use their skills and knowledge, and preserving them for future generations. One of the main goals of the FLAG is the survival of the