New sustainable seaweed company looks to make waves in Caithness
7th November 2015
A new food company aims to make good use of a resource that Caithness has in abundance - seaweed.
New Wave Foods has ambitions to become Scotlands leading processor of edible seaweed.
The start-up company has been granted a licence to sustainably harvest seaweed on the north and east coasts of Caithness.
Stewardship is central to the companys approach; seaweed will be cut by hand and harvest areas fallowed to allow regrowth.
Peter Elbourne, research and development manager for New Wave Foods, says that the idea came about when exploring different options for using the wealth of seaweed on our shoreline - There are hundreds of ways to use seaweed, but we recognised the huge potential in using it as a healthy and versatile food ingredient. There is a real opportunity to champion this forgotten food and supply to markets in the UK and beyond.
New Wave Foods is currently looking to employ a full-time operations manager to run their new factory in Wick. Peter
Peter Elbourne added - Its an exciting opportunity for the right person. Coastal communities across Scotland have a heritage in seaweed harvesting and we are looking forward to reviving old traditions in Caithness.
They aim to take on harvesters in early 2016 and, if demand grows as expected, there could be dozens of jobs in harvesting and processing in the years to come.
