WWW.THEFIELD.CO.UK 119
stone pulpitand a lifebelt. Itcomes from
HMSJason, which hit anenemy mineoff
CollduringWorldWarOne. The crew wor-
shippedatStJohn’s.
StColomb’swasfirstbuiltoutofcorru-
gatedironin 1878 andrebuiltinneo-Gothic
style in 1932. Its bells – Kenneth and
Brendan– werefirstrungin1959.Theyare
namedaftertheBishopofArgyllwhocom-
missionedthemandoneorbothBrendans
whoaccompaniedStColombaasCelticmis-
sionairies.Pinkandblue graniteare used
throughout,makingthecathedral“atangi-
blesymbolofthesturdinessofthetradition
ofthefaithofthepeopleoftheWest High-
landsandislandsofScotland”.
Oban is also a university town. SAMS
(ScottishAssociationforMarineSciences)is
partoftheUniversityoftheHighlandsand
Islands,offeringcoursesinmarinescience,
aquacultureandphysicaloceanography.
Researchis wellunderwayintotheuseof
seaweedasa biofuelaswellasa foodsource.
Theuniversityhastwoseaweedfarms,one
offtheislandofKerreraandanotheratPort
a’Bhuiltin,whichistheUK’slargestexperi-
mentalseaweed farm.It growskelps and
thereisalsoa hatchery,which seeds about
fourkilometresofline.
Seaweed is a greatly underestimated
resourcethatprovidesfoodandshelterto
marinelife.Itisalsoseenasanimportant
source for future supplies of food and feed
(additives),pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, bio-
materialsandbioenergy.
Seaweedfarmingis nowa mature,multi-
billion-dollar industry, with some Asian
countries producing tens of millions of
tonnes of the algaea year. But although
seaweed grows prolifically in Scottish
waters,thereis noseaweedfarming indus-
trytospeakofintheUK.
MacroalgalcultivationspecialistDrAdrian
Macleodcomments:“BythetimeI am65,a
worldpopulationofeightbillionwillneed
to be fed. As a marine scientist, I’m workingtodevelopmethodsandtechnologiesnec-
essary for the large-scale cultivation of
seaweedandseakelp for a range of indus-
trialapplications.”
SAMSisconductingresearchthatwould
support the development of a seaweed
industry,identifyingthemostadvantageous
speciestofarm,developingcultivationand
harvesting techniques, exploring how toTop:thequaysideofScotland’sself-proclaimed
SeafoodCapital.Above:tucking into a seafood meal
at The Shack