Invasive Seaweed Still Growing in San Francisco

[Undaria pinnatifida: one of world's top 100 invasive species]

Two years ago, there were news articles about an asian kelp known as wakame hit San Francisco. It is known as one of the world's top 100 invasive species. It can grow one inch a day in its length, and can spread rapidly. In 2009, the divers attempted to rip out the kelp in a race to stop the release of millions of spores that can grow into new plants. They did this until the fund was cut. If it is inevitable, why not enjoy it?

First of all, wakame is good when used in miso soup and Undaria pinnatifida. It can also help clean the bay water, if you prefer not to eat it for some reason. Although there is a risk that when these seaweeds take over the bay that they can change the ecosystem in the water, if it can be grown with control, the seaweeds can be used for the benefit. The seaweed can consume toxin and algae while it can also be converted into bio-fuel.

Nowadays, we face many obstacles with nature like natural disasters or foreign species invasion. We cannot win the nature by resisting it, but rather we must accept the change and turn it around by utilizing it. The seaweed should be investigated and researched further if it could be used for medicine, bio-fuel, and bio-filtering.