WINNER 2024: Only 25 percent of the seafood we eat comes from Swedish waters. That figure needs to be improved – with the help, among other things, of oysters, mussels and seaweed in marine allotments, which, unlike fish, also purify the water, according to Maria Bodin, one of the winners of the Circular Gastronomy Challenge 2024.
When Circular Gastronomy named the winners of the Circular Gastronomy Challenge 2024 on January 27, one of them was Maria Bodin, who is investing in allotments in the sea. The jury’s motivation was as follows:
“For the idea of creating small-scale joint farms in the sea for fishermen, restaurateurs and private individuals – allotments that can produce sustainable seafood, serve as a meeting place for the exchange of knowledge, and raise awareness about ocean farming.”
Will it be broken lasagna with sea lettuce for dinner? Or maybe ramen with blue mussels and sugar seaweed? If the children who have participated in some of Maria Bodin’s cooking events are asked this question, it’ll undoubtedly receive a positive response. They can find the recipes in Havsbonden’s cookbook, which is available to everyone on the University of Gothenburg website.
– I want to keep it simple. This seafood thing can be difficult for some. But you don’t have to start by eating oysters raw. In Havsbonden’s cookbook there is a great recipe for fried oysters with Asian seaweed and cucumber salad.
Maria Bodin is a project coordinator at the University of Gothenburg and a link between the research world and the general public. At the Center for Ocean and Society at the Department of Marine Sciences, she and her colleagues work to spread knowledge about sustainable seafood and small-scale farming in the ocean. They do this by hosting school classes at Flytevi (the marine allotment in Frihamnen) and holding courses for chefs, among other things.
– Much of the seafood we fish in Sweden today goes into animal feed. Of what we humans eat, only 25 percent comes from Swedish waters; the rest – a full 75 percent – is imported. We should be much better at taking care of what we already have. We have fantastic waters around the west coast and could also grow much more – things that, unlike fish, do not require fertilizers and pesticides, but on the contrary absorb nitrogen and phosphorus and purify the water. Things that can be grown regeneratively without harming the marine environment. We are a kind of ecosystem service provider when we grow mussels and seaweed in the sea.
These are the marine allotments that Bodin envisages, where not fish but oysters, mussels and seaweed are grown. And it is for the idea of how it could develop that she has been named one of the winners of the Circular Gastronomy Challenge. On the one hand, it is about the opportunity to share in and use the ocean’s resources in a more sustainable way. But it is just as much about social sustainability, creating communities and learning more about the ocean.
– When the first article about the phenomenon of marine allotments was published, lots of people got in touch and wondered how they could get involved. People think this is super interesting. And I think it’s important to be hands-on. Being able to offer people the opportunity to come and squeeze and feel to understand what it’s all about, to spark interest in what is called ocean literacy, ocean awareness. The fact that marine allotments seem to be able to get people together around a common interest is fantastic. It’s really important that everyone who wants to can get involved.
A big plus is that the growing season for seaweed doesn’t clash with the swimming season. To grow it, algae shoots are professionally produced in a laboratory, the shoots are attached to a rope that is hung just below the sea surface, where the light still reaches and makes them grow. This happens in the fall, the shoots grow during the winter and are harvested as first crops in March-April, when they are most protein-rich. To cultivate mussels, empty bands are put into the sea and if there are mussel larvae in the water, they attach to the bands. It takes about 18 months for them to grow to consumption size. Oysters are put into hanging cages and baskets.
There are role models for the project. Among other things, Bodin has a lot of contact with colleagues in the other Nordic countries. The Danes have come a long way with somewhat controversial start-up methods.
– They started with guerrilla techniques and developed cultivation kits that they sold. It aroused great interest among the public, so the Danish authorities had to adapt and develop new permits for hobby cultivation in the sea. It has been about 13 years now, and today there are around 30 marine allotments in Denmark.
In Sweden, it works differently. Bodin wants to get a hobby farmer permit similar to the Danish one. If you apply for a permit today, the same rules apply to a small jetty as to large-scale marine farming. In addition, rules regarding shore protection and water activities must be met. If what you grow is to be sold, the regulations of the Swedish Food Agency must also be incorporated.
Bodin sees a marine allotment as a smaller-scale operation. A meeting place, just like a regular allotment, but at sea. She envisages an association that grows mussels together, or a smaller commercial operation like a restaurant that grows seaweed for its own kitchen. And individual growers who, together with others, grow for their own use.
– Nowadays we have to think about preparedness. To grow locally and secure food production for household needs. Whoever grows mussels grows proteins. And if you are allergic to shellfish, seaweed can be a good substitute in terms of taste.
Now that you have won the Circular Gastronomy Challenge, what type of support do you want?
– Our strength is in holding courses and imparting knowledge, and universities can create the conditions for how to get the business started, but we are not the ones who will run it, says Bodin. The changing salinity levels of the oceans mean that different species thrive in the west coast waters and the Baltic Sea respectively. Figuring out which species can be grown where, and taking into account how the oceans are doing, still partly remains to be explored.
– What type of business model can you have? Bodin asks. It is not like buying vegetable seeds, there is a difference between growing in the ocean versus on land. A handbook would also be needed. Currently there is one in Danish that needs to be adapted to Swedish conditions.