There's a woman that started a small company on the west coast of Vancouver Island (Vancouver, BC, Canada) basically harvesting seaweed on her shoreline that has since grown into one of, if not the largest seaweed suppliers in the world for their niche.

Sorry, short on time, but you might want to search "Seaweed Vancouver Island"
"Seaweed Harvesters Vancouver Island" "Seaweed Exporters Vancouver Island", etc., and it should come up.

The story was also in the Vancouver media about some development that could effect the harvest.

Good luck,

Rod