One of the signs of autumn around here is that the beaches are covered in seaweed. On a bright sunny day the ocean doesn’t appear to be blue as is the case in summer, but has a gray color and sometimes looks brown. The water is murky and not clear. In the tidal creek that flows into the bay not far from our home is clogged. For most of the year we can see the bottom of the creek, but not right now. All around the edges of the water are mounds of green seaweed that turns black and sometimes purple as it dries. All of that seaweed brings with it an odor that is unique and a bit unpleasant. It isn’t strong enough to keep us from venturing to the beach, but we have had to learn to be careful walking on the seaweed, which is very slippery when wet and quite spongy when dried. We know from the past two winters that before too long there will be high tides that crash on the beaches and carry away the seaweed.

Seaweed is not a single plant, but a large group of plants that grow underwater in the ocean. Some of the different plants are easier than others to identify. Bullwhip Kelp looks like its namesake, with long “ropes” that have bulbous ends. But I don’t have the educated eye to distinguish between other types of seaweed. There is ribbon kelp and forked kelp, rockweed, and nori. Some of the plants are indigenous to our region and have been growing in the region for centuries. The Coast Salish people have lived in this region since time immemorial and have harvested all kinds of food from the inlets, bays and beaches of the region. In addition to harvesting shellfish like Geoducks, clams, oysters, scallops, muscles, squids, octopus, shrimp, and crabs, they fished for salmon and rock fish and also harvested some of the marine mammals.

Like harvesting fish and shellfish, harvesting seaweed requires a license from the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. A single license covers both shellfish and seaweeds. However, it takes more than a license to gather edible seaweed. One also has to have knowledge of the plants of the ocean and how to prepare and eat them.

In recent years I have been practicing making sushi and have learned a few techniques for making the delicious rolls. Our visits to Japan encouraged me to learn more about preparing rice with just the right consistency and rolling ingredients in Nori. Since moving to this area, I have tried to be very consistent about using fresh local and sustainably harvested fish in my sushi. There is an excellent Lummi Seafood Market near our home where I can be sure that what I am purchasing is fresh and has been harvested with special care to respect the environment and provide for the future. However, most of the nori I use in making sushi is imported from Japan.

I wish I knew enough to harvest nori myself. I certainly don’t want to eat the seaweed that is washing up on the beach with autumn tides, and that needs to be cleaned from my kayak and paddle each time I venture out into the bay. It doesn’t make sense to me to be consuming food that has been flown in from Japan, even lightweight food like nori, when the same food is available locally.

I have read a bit about the Hijiki Sargassum that can be found on the beaches of Whatcom County. Unlike some of the seaweeds that have broad leaves, what is most noticeable about the Sargassum that entangles my paddle and washes up on the rocks are the stems that are long and stringy, as one might imagine a mermaid’s locks. The stalks can grow to three feet in length and turn brown when washed up on the shore.

The name Sargassum conjures images of ancient myths about sailing ships engulfed in floating seaweed. The plants that can be found here, however, are a different species from those found in the Sargasso Sea. The plants around here are actually an invasive weed. In the early 1900s settlers who had over harvested shellfish imported Pacific oysters in coastal waters. Riding on the shells of the imported oysters was Sargassum. The plants were first documented to be thriving in Washington waters in the 1950s and by the end of the 20th Century Sargassum inhabited over a third of the shoreline in our county. It is sometimes included in the category of bullwhip kelp, sugar wrack, rockweed, and other brown algae. Like many other types of seaweed, autumn bring the end of the active growing season and fronds die off in September. Sargassum fronds have fertilized eggs stuck to the parent fronds that fall off as the parent plants are washed towards the shore, establishing holdfasts that over-winter. The following March rapid growth resumes. Sargassum reproduces so quickly that it reduces the amount of native algae in local water because it shades other plants from the sunlight needed for them to grow.

I have yet to find anything about efforts to control the growth or spread of Sargassum. Our region is home to several invasive weeds on land. Himalayan Blackberries are omnipresent in our region. Almost any place where plants are allowed to grow without control is soon covered in the thorny vines with their delicious berries. Our neighbor to the north has a corner of their yard that is completely given over to the plants and they grow so fast that I have to trim the canes sneaking over and through the fence every time I mow the lawn. Sometimes a cane will grow three feet or more in a week. Another imported plant that thrives on land is English Ivy. The parks department trains and employs volunteers to cut back the ivy vines that can kill trees if left to grow unchecked. But I have not yet learned of similar efforts to control invasive aquatic plants.

Seaweed is just another example of the long list of things about our new home that I need to learn. Living in a new place involves a lot of learning and I’ve only begun to explore all that there is to learn. Furthermore, I’m not all that fond of weeding in our garden, so suspect that I might be less than disciplined about weeding the waters, even though I imagine it might involve paddling a kayak. In the meantime, as I continue to figure things out, I’ll be eating imported nori, purchased at the grocery store until I discover a safe and sustainable way to harvest it myself.