Comments on Halat L., Galway M.E., Gitto S. & Garbary D.J. 2015. Epidermal shedding in Ascophyllum nodosum (Phaeophyceae): seasonality, productivity and relationship to harvesting. Phycologia 54(6): 599–608.

Abstract:

Halat et al. (2015. Phycologia 54: 599–608) presented data collected on the epidermal shedding of the intertidal alga Ascophyllum nodosum (Phaeophyceae, Fucaceae) in Nova Scotia, Canada. An analysis of the published data and their interpretation leads us to conclude that this publication includes some serious errors of fact and interpretation that were not identified during the review process and which may prove damaging to the A. nodosum harvesting industry in the North Atlantic. The main issues identified in Halat et al. (2015) are (1) The data collected do not provide information on the rate of epidermal shedding and certainly do not warrant the 1% monthly value suggested by the authors; (2) The authors' assumption that the reproductive material represents 100–140% of the vegetative tissues is not representative, and the references cited by the authors do not support their claims; and (3) The authors make a fallacious and erroneous statement when they claim that the ‘industrial harvest may be accounting for no more than half of the biomass that is actually being removed from the environment’.

Key Words::

• Ascophyllum
• Detritus
• Intertidal ecology
• Nova Scotia
• Reproductive effort
• Seaweed harvesting