Wakame, a popular edible seaweed, has been farmed for over 1,000 years, and has long been used in a number of popular dishes in Korea and Japan. It is a main ingredient of seaweed salads, popular in sushi restaurants around the world. Due to its low calorie and high nutrient content many consider it to be a superfood. The marine seaweed farm operated by Gijang Sustainable Seaweed Network, based in Gijang, in the south-eastern part of South Korea, grows wakame (Undaria pinnatifida), which is dried, processed, and then sold for human consumption around the world. The main destinations are China, Japan, the US, Germany, Scandinavia, and the UK. Gijang is the second producer to be certified against the ASC-MSC seaweed standard, after Japanese Euglena Co.but is the first marine farm to qualify for certification.
The seaweed is cultivated on ropes and harvested manually. For achieving certification, the farm has demonstrated that it has minimal impact on the environment, including local habitats, ecosystems and endangered species. The seaweed is grown using spores produced on the farm rather than in the wild. Wakame cultivated in Gijang is a well-known product on the domestic market. The certification confirms the environmentally sustainable practices of the operation, and also testifies to good working conditions for the employees and positive impacts for the local community. As seaweed products increase in popularity it will become more important than ever to ensure they are farmed or harvested responsibly.
