Vetik OÜ is experimenting with the nation’s historically large natural resource
This article was featured in Eurofish Magazine 4 2025.
The coastal waters of Kassari Bay, Estonia are home to a local natural resource Furcellaria lumbricalis – or red seaweed. This unique species, one largely unknown to global markets, grows freely on seabeds, forming dense carpets that have supported a continuous, but underrecognized history of small-scale harvests in the Baltic region.
Though not often commercially harvested, red seaweed is now at the forefront of research for companies like Vetik OÜ that are investigating its commercial potential by finding ways to responsibly harvest the species, and to use it in agriculture, food, and cosmetics.
Historical harvest and utilisation
The discovery of the abundance of red seaweed dates back to as early as 1814, when the species was first identified as a “potential bioresource” by Danish naturalist Heinrich Gustav Lehmann.1 F. lumbricalis was not harvested for use until the mid-1900s, however, when its presence was identified not only in the immediate Baltic region, but also in Danish coastal regions, like Kattegat. Since then, the estimated abundance of red seaweed in Estonia has only grown. Observations described in the 1960s predicted a 150,000-ton wet weight of F. lumbricalis, and a 2017 estimate says that the current wet weight may exceed 179,000 tonnes. Upon discovery, the commercial interest in red seaweed was driven by its potential to produce furcellaran, a type of carrageenan that is often used as a gelling agent in agricultural, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. In 1966, the company Estagar, the only other Estonian company specializing in red seaweed, began harvesting this furcellaran primarily for culinary purposes, utilizing the copious amounts of loose-lying F. lumbricalis found in the Kassari Bay.
Red seaweed in different stages of processing.
Over time, the organisation’s production expanded beyond applications to food, and the company experimented utilising furcellaran in innovative ways such as in the -development of packaging materials, cosmetic pigments, and pharmaceutical formulation. The startup Vetik OÜ is experimenting with ways in which F. lumbricalis can enter the market whilst navigating complex harvesting and processing regulations. The company is building on the substantial research and interest into red seaweed that has accumulated since the twentieth century. Going beyond traditional uses, the company is analysing new ways to valorize its biomass. The seaweed contains pigments, bio-stimulants, proteins, and lipids, says Tanel Ilmjärv, the CEO of Vetik, which can also be extracted. Vetik’s goal is to start processing the red seaweed efficiently so that they can extract and utilise its other elements in different sectors.
Seaweed’s potential as a bio-stimulant met with scepticism by farmers
Vetik has taken a particular interest in the realm of bio-stimulants. Mr -Ilmjärv describes bio-stimulants as active extracts used by farmers to improve land’s fertility. When it comes to red seaweed, bio-stimulants are extracted by breaking down the seaweed’s natural compounds, like proteins, that contribute to plant health and growth. These bio-stimulants are then added as ingredients to fertilisers. However, the company has struggled to introduce these products into the commercial market. You have to provide companies with products or specific features, that are better than the ones that they’re already using, which is a challenge, says Mr Ilmjärv. Despite its scientific promise, earning their first scientific grants in 2021, gaining traction from the agricultural market often requires a clear history of effectiveness and economic advantages, something that Vetik is still working on. Doing trials in regular fields takes years, Mr Ilmjärv points out. You must have at least three cycles of cultivation with positive results to really build up trust with farmers.
Granulated red seaweed prepared for extraction or use as a bio-stimulant.
For now, Vetik will focus on improving the production of red seaweed derived extracts and defining its best role in the commercial market. The company is focused on developing both efficient and stable harvesting and processing systems for Kassari Bay’s F. lumbricalis. Mr Ilmjärv notes that establishing these methods is no easy task, but that the company has developed machinery that is ready to go from a very small scale to a pilot scale production. In production, red seaweed is first collected from the seabed washed, milled and different material streams are isolated These steps yield the isolation of key components like furcellaran, pigments, or bio-stimulants which can be used in a variety of sectors.
Strict regulations hinder industry development
Despite the abundance of F. lumbricalis in Estonia, covering an area of up to 170 km2, its harvest is subject to strict regulation, in which only 2,000 tonnes of biomass may be harvested each year by licensed companies. According to a published 2019 report, this regulation is “to assure environmentally sustainable and long-lasting utilisation of the unique loose-lying red algae.”2 To navigate these restrictions, Vetik uses other methods to harvest red seaweed during the year. We can go to the beach for beach-cast seaweed, Mr Ilmjärv says, but when it comes is not always predictable, so it has its limits. These constraints make the scalability of the red seaweed industry a challenge. For Mr Ilmjärv the main issue is that red seaweed is not yet cultivated. F. lumbricalis is entirely wild harvested, unlike many other commercially valuable seaweeds, and thus is dependent on natural cycles and environmental conditions which add additional hurdles to the regulatory quotas already in place.
After many years, red seaweed is finally attracting the attention it deserves not just by Estonians, but by other players in the seaweed market. While there are evident challenges in the Estonian seaweed industry, from harvesting limits to commercial barriers to entry, Vetik OÜ is contributing to research and trials in the development of red seaweed as both a sustainable and scalable resource. It is the groundwork laid today by this research that will nurture a successful, sustainable seaweed industry in the future.
Lily Pampolina, Eurofish,
lily@eurofish.dk
1 https://zenodo.org/records/11186314?utm_source=chatgpt.com
2 https://zenodo.org/records/11186314
