Source: NYT > Business (paywall)
A Canadian firm is pursuing exclusive harvesting rights in Irish waters as commercial seaweed demand accelerates globally—a shift that would convert a distributed, centuries-old livelihood into a corporate franchise model. The tension exposes how resource scarcity meets venture-scale ambition: seaweed is becoming too valuable (food, fertilizer, biotech feedstock) for traditional small operators to retain control, but local communities have genuine leverage if they can organize politically before permits lock in.