We are now currently working with several prominent organizations – they receive our information from reputable sources and as such are seen as responsible organizations – we on the other hand can act as we see fit – because there is a “back up” we can speculate and theorize without jeopardizing the message.

In other words the seaweed harvesting and other industries rely on officialdom to filter information.  They say that if it does not have their stamp it is not “scientific.”

As a result we hear that some of Norway’s state organizations are hiding information under the threat of job losses and worse if it is released unofficially – this ultimately will impose a huge financial burden on the public – not on the companies concerned.  We also hear that whistle blowers in the seaweed industries world are permanently excluded from employment.

A little further speculation – if the information on these pages is correct then the government of Norway is allowing a American multinational (with a very dubious past) to empty the seaweed forests of life other than seaweed – it is jeopardizing the welfare of communities along the coast and much further afield by tampering with a mechanism that cleans the seas, it is also destroying large amounts of wildlife. Further Norway’s Marine biologists will look utterly incompetent.

Communicating with Marine biologists worldwide it is staggering to learn how little they actually know of the general picture – is this deliberate???

A excellent document on some of the aspects of Norway’s seaweed harvest is this one http://www.netalgae.eu/uploadedfiles/WP2-Norway-Bioforsk_FOKUS_7(2)_s278-279.pdf

here is a map showing the current areas being harvested – I know from friends  that there is big activity further north than the fields shown on the fiskeriedirektoratets map.

So that means nearly all of the Norwegian coast is now being harvested by seaweed trawlers.

This is what it says about the Norwegian harvest

This is the united nations food and agriculture organization

There seems to be no mention of the environment in this document – perhaps because it does not see itself as responsible in any way for this – past history has shown some dramatic consequences.

Here is a snip from an article from the FAO on seaweed

Essentially it says that seaweed is not being used enough – that the seas are full of the stuff and where most of it is.

As there has been a major shift in the ecology of our oceans in the last 25 years is it possible that FAO’s information is being acted upon – in fact could this be the biggest environmental secret of our decade – why don’t you – the reader find out for yourself!

Taretråling, or seaweed trawling, occurs on the coast of Norway where seaweed grows in sufficient amounts to allow this.

This is a screen save from the fiskeriedirektoratets home page showing the areas marked for seaweed trawling. Unless my information is incorrect that covers the entire area where stor tare or Laminaria hyperborea grows on the coast of Norway in sufficient amounts to be harvestable. Closer examination of the maps on the website reveals that some areas within those boundaries are exempt from taretråling, but pressure from FMC biopolymers has allowed access to over 90 bird reserves etc. (information available on this site)

http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/livinglandscapes/kelp/harvesting.asp

This document – produced by a Scottish government organization https://www.nature.scot/  details very nicely the situation on the Norwegian coast

What it says is that they have considered the Norwegian method of harvesting. The frequency of the harvests means that most of the animals that normally live in the forests and are attached to the stalks are not present enabling a purer and more financially rewarding extraction of alginates.

Extract from this document —————

“here are a number of important factors which should be addressed in the management of any harvesting operation should it happen in the future. For example, in Norway the 4-year reharvesting period results in growth of smaller plants with fewer associated animals and seaweed than a mature kelp forest.”  —————–

So lets be a little clearer – the harvesting activity on the Norwegian coast is emptying the seaweed forests of life. Here it is in black and white from an impeccable source – the maps show where the harvesting occurs – currently the ships are harvesting further north than those boundaries because regrowth in areas formerly considered too poor has occurred.

Having been told by Henning Steen http://www.imr.no/om_havforskningsinstituttet/ansatte/s/henning_steen/nb-no

at the last taretråling conference at Runde during the question time on his presentation on Sea urchin predation on the Norwegian coast that this activity “has nothing to do with taretråling,” (not once but twice) I’m beginning to wonder about major Norwegian institutions and their role in looking after and monitoring the environment on behalf of the Norwegian people.

“other factors which may have a bearing on management of kelp harvesting activity include the role of urchin grazing in recovery of the kelp forest after harvesting, and the importance of kelp forests as a habitat for lobsters and pelagic fish species. “this again from the above document.

So this is pure speculation as i am no Marine biologist or even possessing the capabilities of doing this research – the area of seaweed trawling on the Norwegian coast is such that the areas being trawled are emptying of life – the surrounding areas are also being affected because of the release of defense chemicals from the plants in sympathy with the ones being “attacked” if this is true then that could link to why our seabirds are dying from lack of thyamine if the major source for this is the seaweed forests – and it is very probably occurring worldwide.

There you have it – an American company from a corporation with a long history of every kind of environmental devastation and destruction is destroying the habitat of and killing Norwegian wildlife on a grand scale.