This Seaweed Company Is Bringing the Diverse Ingredient to Indian Kitchens

Pivoting from conservation to wild seaweed harvesting, an ecologist sells the delicious algae to chefs.

Seaweed company The Good Ocean is the first business in India that harvests wild seaweed and sells it to chefs across the country that are integrating the sustainable algae into traditional dishes. “A lot of people think I’m coming to the tide pools to harvest mussels or oysters,” recounts founder and ecologist Gabriella D’Cruz. “And then I have to tell people ‘oh no, I’m not really interested in mussels and oyster, I’m here for the seaweed’…And I always get very strange looks.”

Out of the nearly 800 species of seaweed in India, sargassum is the most abundant species available and the focus for D’Cruz and Chaitanya Chowgule, The Good Ocean’s head of operations. They invited the head chef at Mumbai’s Masque Restaurant, Varun Totlani, to join them during a harvest on a Goan beach with incredible biodiversity. Totlani has been trying to integrate seaweed into traditional dishes and, for this specific dive, he’s looking for an array of different seaweed species, including one called spatoglossum that tastes like raw mango, two types of sargassum, sea grapes, and more bitter seaweeds.

D’Cruz highlights how hard it is to harvest seaweed, with lots of repetitive diving to cut the roots anchored onto rocks and fighting the tides in shallow water. “So while it is a lovely skill to have, it doesn’t take away from the fact that for many, many coastal communities that rely on this for their main livelihood, it’s a really hard job that they just don’t get paid enough money to do,” she says.

There’s also intensive seaweed processing after the harvest, which includes cleaning the plants by hand, handwashing the seaweed in fresh water and salt water, and drying out handmade seaweed nests on racks for two days. Finally, the dried seaweed is packed into vacuum-sealed bags that can be safely delivered to chefs.

D’Cruz and Chowgule explain how their process has improved over the years, including using a sieve to save the tender air bladders that fall off the seaweed during hand-washing, which are used in Totlani’s kitchen as seaweed “caviar.” An insulated bag keeps the spatoglussom cool in sea water during transit, helping to keep the distinct raw mango flavor that D’Cruz and Chowgule have been trying to preserve for over two years.

“I personally am really attached to these ecosystems,” D’Cruz says, as she explains how many marine animals rely on seaweed forests. “I get a lot of joy from spending time in them. They’re also hugely important to oceanic ecosystems.”

Watch the latest episode of Vendors to learn more about how The Good Ocean is bringing seaweed to chefs and integrating the algae into Indian cuisine.