Editing Nori (section)

== Production ==
[[File:Gokasyo Port Nori cultivation ac (1).jpg|thumb|Nori farm in Gokasho Bay, [[Mie Prefecture]]]]
Production and processing of ''nori'' is an advanced form of agriculture. The biology of ''Pyropia'', although complicated, now is well understood, and this knowledge is used to control the production process. Farming takes place in the sea where the ''Pyropia'' plants grow attached to nets suspended at the sea surface and where the farmers operate from boats. The plants grow rapidly, requiring approximately 45 days from "seeding" until the first harvest. Multiple harvests can be taken from a single seeding, typically at approximately ten-day intervals. Harvesting is accomplished using mechanical harvesters of a variety of configurations. Processing of raw product is mostly accomplished by highly automated machines that accurately duplicate traditional manual processing steps, but with much improved efficiency and consistency. The final product is a paper-thin, black, dried sheet of approximately {{convert|18|×|20|cm|0|abbr=on}} and {{convert|3|g}} in weight.

[[File:Nori making, Mishima Island.jpg|thumb|left|Nori drying on [[Mishima Island, Yamaguchi|Mishima Island]]]]

Several grades of nori are available in the United States.  The most common (and least expensive) grades are imported from China, costing approximately six cents per sheet.  At the high end, ranging up to 90 cents per sheet, are "delicate ''shin-nori''" (''nori'' from the first of the year's several harvests) cultivated in the [[Ariake Sea]], off the island of Kyushu in Japan.<ref name=goode>{{cite news|last=Goode |first=J. J. |title=Nori Steps Away From the Sushi |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 9, 2008 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/dining/09nori.html?pagewanted=2 |access-date=25 March 2013}}</ref>

In Japan, more than {{convert|600|km2|mi2}} of coastal waters are given to producing {{convert|350000|t|LT}} of nori, worth more than a billion dollars. China produces approximately a third of this amount.<ref name="Thomas, 02">{{cite book |last=Thomas|first=David|title=Seaweeds |year=2002|publisher=Natural History Museum |location=London|isbn=978-0-565-09175-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/seaweeds0000thom_i6s1/page/86/mode/1up|page=86|via=[[Archive.org]]|url-access=registration }}</ref>

Wild seaweed is still gathered to make nori, often found growing on rocks at the beach. Such wild nori is called ''iwanori'' ("rock nori"), and are known for their rougher texture and taste.