Pyropia Harvest

Specially designed harvesting boats drive beneath the cultivation net and cut off the hanging Pyropia blades underneath. They are typically 10-15 cm long at the point of harvest. 

In China, farmers only harvest the amount that can be processed on that day since farming and primary processing is done by the same entity.

Harvesting boat in China. (Photo courtesy of Li-En Yang)

Transport of the full harvest boat back to the shore. (Photo courtesy of Li-En Yang)

In South Korea, the core harvesting takes place between December and April. Sometimes harvesting starts as early as late October and continues all the way until early May. The harvest is done in the early morning hours when it is still dark and only lasts for a few hours. The harvesting boat then returns to a port where the auction of the fishery cooperative takes place every morning.

The harvested Pyropia is typically sold immediately since the primary processing is done by other companies. Therefore in peak season between January and March, a lot of Pyropia biomass is harvested and needs to be sold immediately. This causes strong fluctuation in price. Because of this, some farmers say they would only harvest when the price is reasonable. 

Harvesting process in South Korea. (Photo courtesy of Dr Hwang EK)

Automatic cutter on harvesting boat in South Korea.

Harvesting boat with harvested biomass back in port in Jindo, South Korea.

In Japan, the first harvest takes place after 30 days, usually at the end of November. For the next month the nets are harvested every four to five days. Then, the nets will be replaced with frozen ones which can be harvested from January to the end of March. The harvesting takes place in the early morning hours in order to process the harvested biomass within one day.

In Japan, farmers only harvest the amount that can be processed on that day since farming and primary processing is done by the same entity.