Collecting tangles at West Hynish in February 1991

Collecting kelp seaweed was once a major source of employment for Tiree people. During the 1800s, there was a flourishing seaweed industry with a processing factory at Sandaig. In this photo, twins Duncan and Neil MacKinnon and David MacClounnan demonstrate how it was gathered by hand and placed over stone ridges to dry. Seaweed is still collected for spreading on land as fertilizer, although nowadays a tractor and trailer is used.