THE SEAWEED AND MARINE
ORGANISM PROJECT (SEAMOP)
Seaweeds represent a large, renewable, but currently under-utilized resource worldwide, but one that has been used and cultivated for centuries particularly in the Orient, for their nutritional and medicinal properties.
Today, with the increasing demand for new foods and medical agents, seaweeds however, have again begun to attract considerable interest as an important source of commercial products with potential economic value.
The Seaweed and Marine Organism project (SEAMOP), is a joint Israeli-Canadian project, initiated by NMRU in 1995, and initially funded by the Canada-Israel Industrial Research Foundation
As part of SEAMOP a feasibility Study was carried out by NMRU in conjunction with Oceans Ltd, a marine engineering company and Memorial University in St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada.
As part of the study, seaweed resources were surveyed in Israel and Canada for their potential commercial uses, as medicines, foods, nutritional supplements and cosmetics.
In addition, an assessment of techniques developed in Israel for cultivating seaweeds using land-based aquaculture facilities, was also evaluated by NMRU, together with the Oceanographic and Limnological Institute in Haifa, a pioneering center in Israel for seaweed research.