Seaweed rich in nourishment and free, for now

Green weed carpets the beaches this year, as it has every year since the early 2000s.

I remember when it wasn’t there and the sand banks in the bay lay bare beneath the sky, all bright and shining when the sun shone.

In parts of the world, Ulva lactua (sea lettuce), is enthusiastically harvested, and no wonder; it delivers 27% protein, 50% of which is sugar and starch, with under 1% fat. The rest is a compendium package of amino acids including one normally lacking in vegetarian diets. Added to this, are many vitamins and, also, dietary fibre. Sea lettuce is big in the Japanese islands of Okinawa and in Crete. Presumably, however, it is not collected where nutrient runoffs from the land, or elsewhere, accelerates its growth.