Seaweed Benefits

Seaweed is one of the world’s only natural sources of umami. Marley Family Seaweed is at the forefront of this culinary revolution! We harvest wild, regenerative seaweed in a sustainable manner, ensuring these delicacies will be available for generations to come.

Our main varieties of Big Sur seaweed are Wakame, Nori and Kombu. These are the same types you have had in Japanese cuisine or may have purchased online or at health food stores. Our seaweed, however, is hand harvested and sun dried to perfection with flavors far surpassing any farmed varieties. The vitamins and minerals of the sea in central California give our seaweed its distinctive merroir.

California wild seaweed is vegan, raw and suitable for many diets.

Seaweed is truly a gift from the sea, and Marley Family Seaweeds offers the best in quality hand-picked wild product.

It is far more nutrient dense than any farmed vegetable. Seaweed is notably high in folate, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, and selenium. It is also a great source of iodine and is widely noted as a good source of omega-3 for vegetarians.

Seaweeds contain fucoidans, which have been reported to aid in not just overall life expectancy, but also to immunity and cardiovascular function.

But chances are, if you’re reading this, you probably already know about how amazing seaweed really is.

But what you probably didn’t know is that the most common varieties of seaweed that we eat (i.e. sushi nori, kombu flakes in dashi broth, ‘seaweed salad’, and those delectable Trader Joe’s seaweed snacks that kids love) grow right here in the wild and pristine waters of California’s central coast.

Most of the seaweed that we consume comes from industrialized farms in Asia that are energy intensive and grown in waters of questionable purity.

We are confident that after trying our wild and sustainably harvested California seaweed, you will not only love the taste, but feel good about supporting a local business bringing great delights from the sea to you!

RADIATION // WATER QUALITY QUESTIONS

Marley Family Seaweeds harvests only from pristine waters far from any outfalls, minor cities and nuclear facilities. California wild seaweed has been constantly monitored for Fukushima radiation and none has ever been detected. You can reference UC Berkeley’s Kelp Watch results here. In fact, kelp contains Iodine-127, a beneficial isotope that has been shown to aid in preventing the body from absorbing Iodine-131 (the harmful kind emitted from radioactive facilities).

Following standard operating procedure from the shellfish industry, we never harvest wild seaweed following rains to ensure maximum freshness. We constantly monitor the San Luis Obispo County Environmental Health beach water quality maps, which are updated daily.

This wild, nutritious seaweed feeds our family and we take every precautionary measure far beyond that of any commercial seaweed farm to ensure that we are only providing the freshest and healthiest delicacies the ocean delivers. From us to you…