	HANDBOOK ON EUCHEUMA SEAWEED CULTIVATION IN FIJI
	LIST OF CONTENTS

ROBERTO FOSCARINI	and	JAYANT PRAKASH

Associate Professional Officer,		Fisheries Officer,
Aquaculturist, FAO/South Pacific		Seaweed Specialist,
Aquaculture Development Project,		Fiji Fisheries Division,
Suva, Fiji		Suva, Fiji

May 1990, Suva, Fiji

MINISTRY OF PRIMARY INDUSTRIES, FISHERIES DIVISION

and

SOUTH PACIFIC AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

GCP/RAS/116/JPN

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal or constitutional status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

We wish to express our sincere gratitude to Dr. Tim Adams, Principal Fisheries Officer. Fiji Fisheries Division, for his critical review of the manuscript and his valuable suggestions.

We also would like to acknowledge Mr. Sashi Kumar, Graphic Artist, University of the South Pacific, Suva, for the illustrative drawings.

FOREWORDS

The production of this handbook on Seaweed Cultivation is timely when the aspiration of the Ministry of Primary Industries on behalf of the Government, is taken into account. Seaweed farming as a part of mariculture or aquaculture in its general sense is the emphasis for the current decade.

With its simplicity and clarity the handbook is an inspiration to eager farmers. As such, we as a Ministry wish to encourage all who are planning to take up seaweed farming to study this handbook and with the help of the Fisheries Division attempt to get going on what is indeed a potential income generating activity for the coastal populace.

The Ministry is grateful to the FAO/South Pacific Aquaculture Development Project for making available funds for the handbook's publication. We also congratulate the Fisheries Division and the officers involved for their valuable contribution to the preparation of the document.

As we reaffirm our commitment to encourage seaweed farming in Fiji may we wish all who are actively involved in all spheres of the Industry the very best that the future may bring for the good of all.

Tui Cavuilati
Deputy Permanent Secretary (Operations)
Ministry for Primary Industries & Cooperatives

Eucheuma seaweed culture is widely practiced in South-East Asia at present in order to create cash income to the subsistence village fishermen. Eucheuma culture also seems feasible to the Pacific Island countries due to the low technology required for its culture and particularly the low shipping cost which is the most important factor for sustainable development of export-oriented fisheries industry in the Pacific.
Eucheuma culture has been already proved technically feasible in the Pacific, and its quality has been well assessed by the industry. The South Pacific Aquaculture Development Project (SPADP) has been so far very supportive in promoting marketing development of cultured Eucheuma.
Fiji was the major producer of Eucheuma in the Pacific and about 200 mt of dried Eucheuma was exported in 1986. It was unfortunate that Eucheuma culture in Fiji deteriorated afterwards mainly due to marketing constraints with the withdrawal of the sole buyer in 1988.
Since then, however, a new marketing channel of Eucheuma was developed in 1989. The SPADP has organized a workshop on Eucheuma culture and marketing in November 1989 in association with the Fiji Fisheries Division and the FMC Marine Colloids Division. The workshop was aimed at promoting a restoration of Eucheuma culture in Fiji and in the Pacific region by disseminating updated information of world marketing situation and enhanced culture methods.
This time, the SPADP has supported the production of this manual aiming at some contribution towards economic development of Fiji and other Pacific nations. It would be quite an honor for me if this publication would be of use for this purpose.

Hideyuki Tanaka
Project Manager, South Pacific Aquaculture Development Project,
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

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