My name is Agnes Mols Mortensen. I was raised in Tvøroyri and live in Syðrugøta.
My interest in seaweed was kindled at a young age. I was very interested in nature in general, but seaweed became my passion. It must have been the combination of growth and the sea that ignited it.
I have a PhD in biology, and I am also the manager of TARI, the company I own with my brother, Mortan Mols Mortensen. I work as a seaweed producer and scientist.
We began selling seaweed in 2015, as there was a growing demand for dry seaweed products. We prioritize sustainable biology, and we only sell the kinds of seaweed that we can breed or harvest in a sustainable manner without the use of other tools than knives. We breed the edible kind of seaweed and broadleaf kelp, and we harvest oarweed, dulse, tough laver and thongweed from the sea.
The seaweed products Ocean Palm (dulse), Ocean Purple (tough laver), Ocean Wings (Kelp) and Ocean Spaghetti (thongweed) and dried end products can be purchased at cafés and information centres throughout the Faroes. The manufactured goods Ocean Palm and Ocean Purple are sold in 15 gram bags, Ocean Wings in 20 gram bags, and Ocean Spaghetti in 25 gram bags. It is also possible to buy in larger quantities; these are packaged in jars with lids.
In addition to the Ocean products, we also sell broadleaf kelp, dulse, Polysiphonia lanosa and seaweed salt; these products we do not sell through retail, although they can be ordered.
All days are different, so it is difficult to describe a typical workday. We work with hatching, aquaculture, harvesting, processing, packing and selling seaweed, in addition to administration and science work. During the fall we hatch the seaweed, and the winter is spent putting out seeded seaweed lines. The harvest is done in the spring.
In addition to the production and research, we sometimes offer seaweed trips in the Faroese nature. Also, together with Húsarhaldsskúli Føroya, we have courses on seaweed as food. Húsarhaldsskúli Føroya has developed several recipes using our products. We also have a collaboration with the café SMAKKA Spf, which makes high quality food using our seaweed.
