SEA vegetables flap serenely in the warm waters of Port Phillip Bay no matter what the weather is above, as experienced and licensed divers of the Australian Seaweed Company cull the best, in an emerging industry about to take on the world.
Twenty–five years in the making, Mike Houghton and his two daughters Loretta and Louise, business partner Ric De Vries and his son Liam, founded the first commercial seaweed operation, owning and operating licences in a variety of fisheries, including Port Phillip and Western Port bays, abalone from the central zone and mussel farming down at Portarlington.
With experience under their belts they are embarking on a new journey, harvesting seaweed as a food source.
"It's a beautiful sea vegetable which has slowly spread across Port Phillip Bay, and from Apollo Bay to Wilsons Prom.
"Over the last five years good quantities enabled us to go commercial, harvesting ten tonne a year.
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"We also do a really nice semi dehydrated salted wakame or long–life product, sought after by the restaurants and the better grocery shops," said Mike.
"We're also lucky to have a permit for five divers: Ric and his son Liam are both licensed abalone divers, forming the basis of our wild harvest operations.
"We invested in an independently audited food safety plan for available wakame harvests, and rigorously tested to give us a really good product, which will hopefully be used in soups, stir–fries, salads and not just for Japanese cooking."
These pioneering sea–farmers, intrepid as they may be, have managed to corner a new market in fisheries whilst developing other products which so far include dashi powder, flakes, and mekabu powder.
Mekabu's primary nutrients are fucoidan and algin acid.
Both nutrients are said to boost the immune system and activate other cells.
Algin claims to improve the condition of stomach and the intestines, among other benefits, like controlling blood levels, being rich in calcium and iodine for your metabolism.
A thousand metric tonnes of wakame are harvested worldwide, the second most consumed sea vegetable in the world, just below nori which is used to wrap sushi.
There is a growing interest in the seaweed industry, and they could produce a tonne a day, if given the market opportunity.
Processing each plant has several steps of washing, blanching, salting, and removing moisture.
It is golden brown in colour and can grow up to three metres in length, with a distinct umami flavour and texture.
Before taking these steps, processing begins aboard their boats within minutes of harvesting, using traditional Japanese techniques, thereby ensuring the highest quality.
"We concentrate our harvesting in Port Phillip, especially down the southern end of the Bay where we have the first flush of the Bass Strait water every day," said Mike.
"The mussel farms extend from Port Arlington, and south Sands, close to the Entrance – they are subject to rigorous water quality testing, which gives us confidence and combines with our own safety plan.
"It took a lot of negotiation with health authorities, in relation to harvest protocols and the actual process; one of the difficulties in being the first harvester of seaweed.
"Most people work on the precautionary principle when harvesting seaweed, but they look at the worst–case scenarios throughout the world, where none of them apply to wakame.
"Some issues have arisen overseas, particularly in China where it's a huge industry, but their practices would not be acceptable here.
"Our wakame is safe: to be proud of.
"The only enemy to our wakame would be the sea urchins, which can eat a reef in a year, but wakame in Port Phillip is unaffected."
The Australian Seaweed Company is a highly experienced commercial fishing company with many aquaculture sites and licences in Port Phillip and Western Port Bay, with numerous permits to harvest scallops and crabs
"We are not an ad hoc little business, where we've thought, jeez, this would be a good thing to do.
"We have boats and some of the best divers in Victoria, but coming out of the Covid years has been difficult," said Mike.
Harvesting in strong winds creates turbidity and it is hard physical work but Mike Houghton and Co. see a 'buoyant future', with new market development over the next 5 years, consistent with the versatility of this sea vegetation. Mike says it's a beautiful way to make a living, and as people become more educated about the products' nutrients, the more they'll buy.
