2023-05-17 09:00:00
The Member States are called upon to facilitate the exploitation of this sector considered to be strategic for the future of human food and the climate.
Par Emmanuel Beretta
© Loic Venance/AFP
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Et if the sea had not yet delivered all its benefits? Algae are the subject of particular interest from the European Commission given the many advantages they offer. A “treasure of the seas”, in the words of the Commissioner for the Oceans, the Lithuanian Virginijus Sinkevicius, but largely under-exploited.
Despite a remarkable protein value, seaweed contributes only 2% of human food needs, while the oceans cover 70% of the surface of the globe. The operation of seaweed farms in Europe would also have a low carbon footprint. Another advantage: the production and processing of algae can be used to manufacture pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, biostimulants, biologicals and cosmetics.
The Commission launched an “initiative” in November 2022 to bring together stakeholders in the sector via a platform (UE4 Algae) which now brings together 700 stakeholders. The European Parliament supported this approach with a resolution a few days ago. The current situation deserves to be greatly improved but is the responsibility of the Member States. It is up to them to simplify the procedures to allow the creation of an “algae industry”. The Commission can only propose a “toolbox” before next summer. Except that the seaweed aquaculture sector is still impacted by a dozen European texts.
A first summit in Paris in October
The first European Algae Awareness Summit will be held in Paris, October 5-7. “This event will be organized by the Commission jointly with the French authorities and the United Nations Global Compact,” said Commissioner Sinkevicius. We want to inspire national authorities for change and raise awareness by sharing best practices, success stories and inviting people to try seaweed products. »
Currently, Europe is the leading importer of seaweed products with a value of 554 million euros in 2016. In 2019, European demand was 270,000 tonnes. Projections suggest 8 million tonnes in 2030. The Commission is considering a scenario where the increase would be 3,000%, ie a potential market of 9 billion euros. The 75 million consumers who have become vegan could therefore grow in the years to come.
READ ALSONice – Nathalie Hilmi: “Solutions to reduce C02 come from nature” “It is time to fully exploit the potential of seaweed as a renewable resource in Europe,” said Croatian MEP Predrag Fred Matic, Vice-President of the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee. Due to global population growth, resource depletion, environmental pressure and climate change, there is a need to approach food and economic systems differently. »
In short, the EU is betting on a change in food patterns: fewer livestock, less land use to make room for forests considered as carbon sinks, fewer chemical inputs into the soil and a displacement of consumption towards seaweed. Eat seaweed to parody Jacques Chirac’s “eat apples”.
Income diversification for fishermen
Hence the need to make it an industry. For the moment, the collection is done in the wild and less via aquaculture farms, unlike Asia. Japan is a leading country. The island has been consuming around a hundred varieties of surrounding seaweed since very ancient times. Excellent for health, they are rich in iron, calcium, iodine, magnesium…
The Commission therefore recommends 23 actions to develop the sector and build food independence: facilitating access to maritime space, identifying the sites most suitable for growing seaweed. One wonders if fishermen could possibly be redirected towards this growing sector with support for innovative SMEs (and there are some!). “It is a sector which will be key for the diversification of income in coastal areas, which is complementary to that which comes from fishing”, confirmed MEP Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, from the Basque Nationalist Party, during the debate.
READ ALSOWild species, both overexploited and underexploitedAlgae could also be used as fertilizer for farmers. Research could help improve their current operation. This was also the case in the past “in the central and northern regions of Portugal, underlines the communist MEP João Pimenta Lopes. The use of this resource has been replaced by the use of chemical fertilizers, but to the detriment of the environment and the communities that depended on this activity “. “For my country, this also means the possibility of sustainably exploiting the 10,000 tonnes of algae that suffocate the Black Sea coast each year”, hopes the Romanian Carmen Avram (Socialist Party).
According to the FAO, the world production of food and non-food seaweed amounted to more than 35.1 million tonnes in 2020, mainly in Asia. China has long remained the leading producer with 20.8 million tonnes, ahead of Indonesia (9.6 million), these two countries dominating the world map.
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