Potential scale of Scottish seaweed-based industries: research paper

D Industry Questionnaire

ABPmer and RPA are undertaking research for Marine Scotland and Crown Estate Scotland to better understand the potential scale of seaweed-based industries in Scotland. This research will feed into the Scottish Government's Seaweed Review and is considered key to ensuring that the review's wider research needs are grounded in where future opportunities for the sector may lie, balanced with consideration for the environment and those sharing the space.

These questions are designed to enable us to accurately document the current level of seaweed-related industry that exists in Scotland and project the potential future growth of the industry over the next 20 years, taking account of likely opportunities and constraints, as well as your vision of how you would like or expect the sector to develop.

A member of ABPmer's project team will call you to go through these questions with you so you do not have to fill in and return the questionnaire.

Any information that you provide will be treated as confidential under a non-disclosure agreement. The outputs of the research will be presented in an aggregated and anonymised format so that no information can be personally identifiable to your business.

Your current business

1. Brief overview of your business

a. What seaweed product(s) do you produce?

b. What proportion of your business/products relates to seaweed?

c. Who do you sell your product to (e.g. processors, wholesalers, retailers, direct to consumers) and in what proportions (e.g. <25%, 50%, 75%, 100%)? Where are they located in Scotland (or in the rest of the UK/other)?

2. Raw material

a. If you wild harvest the raw material for your product(s) in Scotland:

i. What species?

ii. How is it harvested?

iii. In which months is harvesting undertaken?

iv. What volume is harvested (e.g. per annum; wet weight or dry weight)?

v. Where (general location) is harvesting undertaken?

b. If you cultivate (farm) the raw material for your product(s) in Scotland:

i. What species and why cultivate rather than harvest?

ii. What size is the farm (e.g. number of ropes, hectares)

iii. How do you long is the seaweed grown before harvesting and in which months is it harvested?

iv. What volume is harvested (e.g. per annum; wet weight or dry weight)?

v. Where is the cultivation taking place (general location)?

c. If you do not currently cultivate raw material in Scotland - do you anticipate the need to, or intend to cultivate seaweed in the near future? If yes:

i. What species and why?

ii. What proportion of your raw material needs do you aim to cultivate?

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d. If you do not obtain your raw material from wild harvest or cultivation in Scotland – how do you source your raw material?

i. What species, quantities and where from?

3. Processing and supply chain requirements

a. If you process the raw material:

i. What processing is undertaken? Please describe the process

ii. Where is the processing undertaken?

b. If you do not process the raw material:

i. Who do you sell it to?

ii. Where are they based and how do they process it?

c. What other supply chain requirements do you have e.g. equipment, distribution to customers, others (describe)? What proportion is sourced from Scotland?

4. Products and markets – for your main products

a. How much of your product(s) do you sell per annum (please specify units)?

b. What is the unit price of your product? Or alternatively what is the turnover associated with this production?

c. Is annual production steady or can it vary significantly year on year (please provide numbers for the last 3 years)?

5. Costs and staffing

a. What are your operational costs on average per annum?

b. How have these costs changed over the last three years?

c. What is your capital expenditure? How often do you incur this? If possible, please provide the last year your investment took place.

d. How many full-time equivalent staff do you employ?

6. Constraints

a. Are there any factors currently constraining your business (e.g. in relation to scaling-up/economies of scale, licensing processes or conditions, technology, supply chain logistics or capacity, other – please describe)?

Future plans for your business

In order to project potential future growth scenarios, we are keen to understand your vision for your company and then more broadly for the seaweed industry in Scotland.

7. Vision for company

a. Do you anticipate expanding production of current products? If yes:

i. Is this related to increasing demand in your current market and/or new markets?

ii. How much do you anticipate increasing production by and when?

iii. How much additional raw material would be required? Would this be achieved through harvesting and/or cultivation (or other)?

iv. Where would you source your raw material from?

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b. Do you anticipate creating new products? If yes:

i. What type of product(s)?

ii. What additional raw materials will be required (species, volume, location)?

iii. Is there enough resource to accommodate this?

iv. Would your processing techniques and supply chain need to change and, if so, when and how (techniques, location)?

v. Would the costs of your operation change and if so, when and by how much?

vi. What markets would you target and what is the expected export volume and turnover (e.g. per annum)?

8. Constraints and opportunities

a. What (if anything) may potentially constrain your business in the future and why? For example:

i. Resource availability?

ii. Staff recruitment?

iii. Seasonal variation in resource supply or quality?

iv. Demand for product?

v. Processing and supply chain capacity or costs?

vi. Harvesting/cultivation techniques and their environmental impacts?

vii. Licensing and regulation?

viii. Other?

9. The future of the seaweed industry in Scotland

a. More broadly, how do you see the seaweed industry developing in Scotland over the next 20 years? Where do you see the main opportunities arising?

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