SAMS Research Advances Sustainable Dulse Production to Support Growing Global Demand for Bio Based Materials

Drs Frederik De Boever and Puja Kumari are growing Palmaria palmata, also known as dulse, in tanks at SAMS in Oban.

(IN BRIEF) Researchers at the Scottish Association for Marine Science have developed a controlled tank-based method to cultivate the high-value red seaweed dulse, overcoming longstanding hatchery challenges and dramatically reducing early mortality rates. The approach enables year-round production with improved quality and environmental control, supporting growing demand for red seaweed used in food, biotechnology, and sustainable materials. The work, part of the FABRICS project with academic and commercial partners, aims to diversify European seaweed cultivation and build more resilient supply chains.

(PRESS RELEASE) OBAN, 19-Feb-2026 — /EuropaWire/ — Scientists at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) in Oban have developed a tank-based cultivation technique for the premium red seaweed Palmaria palmata, commonly known as dulse, achieving rapid and consistent growth under controlled conditions.

Researchers reported exceptionally strong performance in laboratory aquaria, with biomass doubling on a weekly basis. Dulse is considered a high-value crop—worth significantly more per tonne than kelp—and has applications spanning food production, animal feed, natural dyes, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products. Despite this commercial potential, large-scale cultivation has historically been limited by biological and technical challenges.

Natural supplies along Atlantic coastlines are relatively scarce, and growers have struggled to propagate the species reliably due to high mortality during the hatchery stage. The seaweed’s short reproductive window and mismatched maturation timing between male and female plants have made life-cycle management difficult, often resulting in spore mortality rates of 60 to 70 percent.

The SAMS team identified this hatchery phase as a critical bottleneck and introduced a new approach that rebalances the microbial environment. By incorporating natural grazers and probiotic-based techniques to suppress disease, microbiologist Frederik De Boever reduced early-stage mortality to around 10 percent, enabling healthier development from spores to germlings and improving resilience compared with traditional propagation methods.

Demand for red seaweed continues to rise globally, yet production is concentrated in a limited number of Asian-cultivated species increasingly affected by climate change and disease outbreaks. The new controlled-environment method allows year-round cultivation and offers improved product quality, including reduced iodine and heavy-metal accumulation compared with open-sea farming.

Puja Kumari, who leads the FABRICS cultivation project at SAMS, emphasized the importance of diversifying beyond large kelp species to strengthen the red seaweed sector. She noted that red seaweeds account for roughly half the global value of seaweed production and that expanding cultivation of UK and European species is vital for supply security, sustainability, and progress toward net-zero targets.

The FABRICS project, funded by UKRI-BBSRC, also includes industry partners W. L. Gore & Associates and SeaDyes, a Scotland-based start-up producing natural dyes from seaweed for fashion and textile applications. Jessica Giannotti, founder and CEO of SeaDyes, said the collaboration aims to establish a scalable, reliable source of red seaweed biomass to support sustainable dye technologies and strengthen domestic supply chains.

By combining improved hatchery science with land-based cultivation systems, the project demonstrates a pathway toward resilient, high-quality production of dulse and other red seaweeds, supporting emerging bio-based industries while reducing reliance on vulnerable global supply sources.

Media Contact:

Euan Paterson
Communications and Media Officer
Euan.Paterson@sams.ac.uk
01631 559342 (direct dial)
07827 963984 (mobile)
01631 559000 (switchboard)

SOURCE: Scottish Association for Marine Science