CHAPTER 18 



Processing Marine Plant Products 



F. Bruce Sanford 



Through the ages seaweeds have held a pecuHar attraction for man, 

 challenging him to find valuable uses for them. As a result, he has em- 

 ployed them in many ways, depending upon the sophistication of his 

 knowledge. 



In this chapter three topics concerning seaweeds are discussed: what 

 seaweeds are, what problems are encountered in their use, and what they 

 are used for. 



Seaweeds 



Classification and Habits of Growth. Marine plants may be divided 

 into two groups: grasses and algae. In this chapter, we consider only the 

 algae, for they constitute the group with the greater commercial potential. 

 Algae, in turn, may be further divided into two subgroups: those that 

 are free to move from place to place according to the flow of ocean cur- 

 rents and those that grow in a fixed location. Again we will be selective 

 and will focus our attention on those that remain fixed, since they are 

 the algae of commercial importance. These fixed algae may be subclassi- 

 fied still further according to color into green, brown, red, or blue green 

 varieties. 



Algae, depending upon the particular variety, have certain character- 

 istics that tend to limit their utilization. Those individuals contemplating 

 commercial use of algae should, therefore, give this aspect study. The 

 limiting factors are too numerous for comprehensive discussion here so 



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