DulseSeed: Novel process for seed production of a high-value seaweed with anti-diabetic properties

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Dulse (Palmaria Palmata) is a UK-native red Seaweed with superior nutritional content and a favourable flavour and texture for human food consumption. In addition, Dulse is of particular interest due to the recent discovery that its protein constituents may be highly efficient in controlling type 2 diabetes. Dulse commands a high-market price and is currently only being hand harvested in the UK. This project aims to develop a new method of creating seedlings of Dulse, so that this species can be grown into mature plants at sea at a commercial scale.Our project will focus on the following key seeding steps: 1\. To identify and harvest high-quality wild reproductive seed material stock. 2\. To expand the seed material stock using a novel biomass up-scaling method for seaweeds. 3\. To trigger mass spore release and subsequent germination of seedlings using custom photobioreactor. 4\. To grow germinated seedlings into juvenile plantlets for assessment of the viability of the seed.Plant Ecology Beyond Land CIC (PEBL) has expertise in seaweed seed harvesting, seed production, and hatchery design. The outcome of this project will be a comprehensive feasibility assessment that will provide detailed operational plans, an environmental impact assessment, and an analysis on the financial viability to run such an operation over a 5-year period.If successful, the Dulse-Seed project will provide the foundations of a new means of producing highly nutritional food (average of 25% protein) and a novel anti-diabetic medical product. Compared to existing high-nutrient foods and anti-diabetic products the production of Dulse would require near to no land-use and zero-use of fertilisers or pesticides. In the face of an urgent need to mitigate further biodiversity loss and carbon emissions, this project is an opportunity to tackle two of todays most pressing challenges. Due to the modular approach taken both in the seeding process of Dulse and the subsequent grow-out at sea, this process is highly scalable and therefore may also paves the way for more affordable nutrient dense food and anti-diabetic medication as well as opportunities to develop new export markets.