June 30 2025
Meet our Seaweed Biologist
Enjoy this Q&A as you get to know our Seaweed Biologist, Merle Scheib!
What drew you to work with seaweed?
First and foremost my lifelong enjoyment of poking around the intertidal on a rocky shore marvelling at all the diversity in flora (and fauna) and wondering “What’s this? What’s that? Why is this up here and not down in the water?” While learning about seaweeds, what drew me in most was the great variety of the subject. Seaweed species range immensely in their appearance when it comes to size, colour, and shape, their physiology and strategies of reproduction can vary a lot as well, so there is loads to learn about them and it never gets boring.
Can you share a bit about your background and previous work with seaweed?
I have completed my Master’s Degree in Marine Biology at the University of Bremen in Germany. For my Master’s Thesis I investigated the light protection mechanisms of Porphyra umbilicalis in regards to pigment and antioxidant concentrations. The last one and a half years before I started my job at Industrial Plankton I’ve been travelling in New Zealand and Tasmania where I learned a lot about the local seaweed species through internships. I spent time at the Marine Field Station in Tauranga, New Zealand where I was involved in aquaculture research in regards to the kelp Ecklonia radiata. In Hobart, Tasmania I volunteered at the IMAS (Institute for Marine and Antarctic Science) and was assisting in research concerning the nutrient optimization for the cultivaiton of Asparagopsis armata.
What are you most looking forward to working on in the coming months?
Working on our new Neopyropia yezoensis cultures (aka Nori or Laver) this red seaweed is one of the most popular to grow in aquaculture (in Asia) and to eat. It is best known to be the wrapped around sushi. (Yes I know the seaweed around sushi looks dark green but I swear it’s a red seaweed – it looses its red-brown hue when dried).
So far we have been bulking kelp gametophytes (Saccharina and Macrocystis) in our SBRs, red algae like Pyropia have a very different life cycle. With Pyropia it is the conchocelis phase of the lifecycle that we aim to bulk by regular fragmentation inside the bioreactors while maintaining optimum light, temperature and nutrient levels.
What do you think is the most misunderstood thing about seaweed?
That they are actually beautiful! Most people only see the stinky disintegrating seaweeds that washed up on the beach but they are so much more than that. They can be colourful, intrecately beautiful and most importantly for us: Very tasty and nutritous or have practical applications in a multitude of areas. (Seaweeds can be used to remove pollutants from the ocean, even “mining” rare elements from seaweed is being researched at the moment)
Do you have a favorite seaweed species, and why?
Going by appearance my favourite species is Plocamium, it is bright red and has very fine, comb-like brances, it is just soo pretty.
Going by taste it is probably Wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) which is the species most japanese seaweed salads are made from, very tasty!
Any favorite ocean-related books, documentaries, or hobbies?
Snorkeling or scuba diving!