On the 24th of Oktober members of our team travelled to the United Kingdom with a van full of equipment, seeded twine and seedlings to be delivered to the majority of our clients in the South and Southwest of the United Kingdom.
For a general impression of the trip, please go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ter71xrq54Y
The trip started in Heerhugowaard where the seedlings in seawater were loaded up as well as all the necessary equipment. The next stop was Hortimare’s new hatchery in Kamperland, Zeeland where the team loaded over 4 kilometers of twine seeded golden brown Saccharina latissima (sugar kelp) for delivery to our clients in Dorset (Jurassic Sea Farms) and Cornwall (Biome Algae).
After a bit of a delay at the Eurotunnel due to technical defects, the team arrived late but safe in Cornwall where the coils were off-loaded the next morning in tanks at the facility of Westcountry Mussels for temporary deployment. The remainder of the Monday was used for delivery of seedlings to the Marine Biology Association and Cornish Seaweed Company at the very Southwest tip of Cornwall followed by a late seeding evening/night of the Hortimare test lines.
Tuesday early in the morning, the team of Biome Algae and Westcountry Mussels welcomed Petra & René aboard their vessel, for a trip to the farm. The Direct Seeded test lines went into the water in a stunning 45 minutes. Next up was the deployment of the twine of Biome Algae by usage of the twine-wrapping-machine of Westcountry Mussels.
The trip on Wednesday to look for sorus on the beach and in the ocean unfortunately did not result as desired due to hostile waves and a quick incoming of the tide. Nevertheless it was a great experience to be learning about our clients’ conditions and challenges on the spot.
We truly enjoyed the collaboration and the learning experience during seeding and deployment. We wish our UK-clients a fruitful seaweed season and look forward to being back in spring to perform test line assessments and hoping to see terrific yields.
On a final note: based upon the new regulations around Brexit, Hortimare was supported by Jetpak for the organisation of the transport and custom clearance documentation, for which we would like to thank them.
In case you missed it at the top: for a general impression of the trip, please go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ter71xrq54Y