183 The Environmental Impacts of Harvesting Beach‐Cast Seaweeds

Until recently the commercial collection of beach-cast seaweeds in New Zealand was prohibited but the legislation has recently been amended to allow permitting of this activity. This review collates existing information on the role of beach-cast seaweed in coastal ecosystems to describe the nature and extent of the effects that commercial removals of beach cast seaweed may have on the marine environment. It outlines the amount of beach-cast seaweed available for harvest in New Zealand and the fate of seaweed when not collected; reviewing current information on the importance of beach-cast seaweeds and its inhabitants on: feeding and nesting shorebirds, and nutritional contribution of seaweed inhabitants to nearshore coastal ecosystems when seaweed is washed back into the sea It also identifies key research gaps related to any environmental impacts that the removal of beach cast seaweed might have.