We are a seaweed company based on the Atlantic Coast, in the north of Ireland.
We mainly hand harvest the following various Irish seaweeds / macroalgae :-
Common name – Latin Name : –
Dulse / Dillisk / tangles / tang – Palmaria palmata
For more info on Dulse – please click here
Carrageen / carragheen / Irish Moss / carrageenan – Chondrus crispus
For more info on Carrageen – please click here
Kelp / Kombu / Konbu / Haidai – Laminaria digitata
For more info on Kelp – please click here
Sweet Kelp / Sugar Kelp / Kombu Royale – Saccharina latissima – Laminaria saccharina
For more info on Sweet Kelp – please click here
Sea Lettuce – Ulva lactuca
For more info on Sea Lettuce – please click here
Sea Spaghetti – Himanthalia elongata
For more info on Sea Spaghetti – please click here
Irish / Atlantic Wakame – Alaria esculenta
For more info on Irish Wakame – please click here
The history of the company:
Irish Seaweeds, previously Dolphin Sea Vegetable Company, Northern Ireland, was established in 1990 by Gus.
It was a small family run business based in Belfast. Gus hand harvested seaweeds from around the shores of Ireland in a sustainable manner and developed the seaweed market within Ireland.
More background from the previous owner of Irish Seaweeds – Gus.
Here is Gus’s story in his own words of how he worked on a project prior to selling the company in 2017 and how he delivered a product using “RMA”.
“After many years of hand harvesting and supplying the local Northern Ireland market with the edible red seaweed – Dulse (Rhodophyta – Palmaria palmata) – a traditional snack food in Northern Ireland and the west coast of Ireland, Irish Seaweeds / Dolphin Sea Vegetable Company, instigated research & development projects, with major Universities within Ireland and Northern Ireland, for the drying and cultivation techniques of sea veg – edible seaweeds.”
“Our work also resulted in the establishment of seaweed aquaculture and led to the installation of an experimental “Seaweed Culture” – based in Strangford Lough, Co Down, Northern Ireland. THE FIRST IN EUROPE OF IT’S KIND!!!!”
The “seaweed farm” in Strangford Lough – no longer exists, but it was a great experiment showing the passion Gus had for his work with seaweed.
Finally, from the recollections of Gus:
“Due to increasing worldwide interest in the use of algae / seaweeds for their health properties and benefits, Irish Seaweed / Dolphin Sea Vegetable Company undertook further research programs, which resulted in the development of the Red Marine Algae ( RMA ) products – called PHYCO-PLEX and EMERALD RMA.”
Although the current owner no longer carries out this research and we do not own the rights to Gus’s “RMA” products, we feel it is very important to remember the history of the work done by Gus and his family in promoting seaweed for peoples health. Thank you Gus!