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Coral & calcinated seaweed.
Most people are not aware of the fact that cold water coral and calcinated seaweed can be found in Ireland. The best place to look for it is in tidal pools along the rocky shore.
Start the search when the water is out/ low water.(Low tide).
You can spot it easily, mostly reddish or purple in colour but any colour is possible. A facinating world and includes also many small sea creatures.
Seaweeds too grow along the shores in the shallow region of the ocean known as the low (intertidal) zone, the area between high tide and low tide mark. It floats in the water and does not have to resist the pull of the earth but must be able to resist the forces of strong currents and waves. They are rich in different polysaccharide type materials like alginic acid, agar, chitosan, starch, konjac, heparins, pullulan, pectins, Xanthan, Guarans and Hyaluronates . Land plants contain much more celluloses and less polysacchardes like starch.
Mineral content: as air and water become more and more acidified as result of burning large amounts of fuel and pollution by industry, the mild acid rain which is formed will leach the land and remove some of the minerals including the important trace elements. The streams and rivers then take them down to the sea where wild seaweeds can incorporate these lost trace elements into themselves.
They are very rich in minerals( 60 different ones), vitamins, protein and complex sugars.
Is it risky to eat seaweeds, no not if you eat it in small amounts. The use of seaweeds as food is generally recognised as safe. The risk to human health from consuming them is therefore minimal. It is however important that they are harvested from a region with very low contaminant levels because if the water is polluted seaweeds can absorb those pollutants.
On the left you will see pictures of coral and sea creatures and on the left different seaweeds. | 
