Seaweed has health benefits for people and the environment
Whether naturally harvested or farmed, seaweed can benefit people's health and positively impact the environment. Southern Seaweeds is one of the country's leading seaweed suppliers for the food industry, and we are committed to further exploring the benefits of harvesting and farming Undaria pinnatifida in New Zealand.
Contact us to find out more about our operations or to discuss how we can supply you as a wholesale client.
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Northland | Auckland | Waikato | Bay of Plenty | Gisborne | Hawke's Bay | Taranaki | Manawatu-Wanganui | Wellington | Tasman | Nelson | Marlborough | West Coast | Canterbury | Otago | Southland
Page: Health benefits of NZ seaweed - Sustainability benefits - Last updated: 21st February, 2026
Seaweed for nutrition
While seaweed does not make up part of the diet of the majority of New Zealanders, or other Western nations, it does play a much more important part in the diet in Asian cultures.
Seaweed has many health benefits when incorporated into the diet. Dried Wakame seaweed has higher levels of iodine than vegetables, but lower levels than kelp. Wakame is also an good source of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals being high in calcium, iron, magnesium, selenium, omega-3 and tyrosine (important for thyroid function).
There are also suggestions that there are other health benefits like lowering cholesterol levels, decreasing blood sugar, and aiding in weight loss. It is also a great source of dietary fibre.
HOW TO USE SEAWEED IN CUISINE
Seaweed adds an umami flavour to food and has a natural saltiness that can act as a substitute for salt. Most commonly, seaweed is added to soup to add saltiness. Seaweed can also be sliced and mixed with vinegar and oil as a salad. It can also be used as a seasoning once flaked and mixed with sea salt.
Seaweed and sustainability
While increasing ocean temperatures across the globe are very concerning, the fact remains that the ocean is the world’s greatest buffer. Ocean temperatures are less variable than air temperatures so the change will take longer. By removing the CO2 from the surrounding water, the seaweed can help to mitigate the acidifying effect the CO2 has on seawater.
Seaweed grows at a faster rate than land plants and, therefore, is very efficient at removing CO2 from the atmosphere. One day, it may even become a viable alternative to trees for carbon farming.
Kelp forests, being made of the largest and fastest growing seaweeds, make the biggest impact on local biogeochemical conditions, but these are in decline worldwide due to ocean acidification and increasing ocean temperatures. High-density seaweed farms could be part of the solution to replacing the CO2 removal that is being lost with these kelp forests, along with “seaforestation” to help rebuild the kelp forests that have been lost.
With an increasing population and a finite amount of land available, humans are going to need to increase productivity by accessing new areas to farm and harvest from. While the ocean has always been exploited for its fish and shellfish resources, in New Zealand, the seaweed resource has hardly been considered.
Utilising a resource that grows and disappears annually is the idea of sustainability that Southern Seaweeds follows. Southern Seaweeds will depend on using harvesters that work in seasonal fisheries around the South Island to help harvest enough seaweed to meet demand, which helps to improve resilience in local communities. Southern Seaweeds respects the ocean by hand-harvesting wild seaweed while being careful not to disturb other seaweed populations.