4.1 Future directions for FAO - feedback from industry 6
4.2 Future prospects in African countries 10
4.3 Future prospects in Asian countries 11
4.4 Future prospects in Latin American countries 14
In compiling this report, 30 people from 26 countries provided information about the seaweed industry and in some cases, mainly people from within the industry, they also offered more general comments and suggestions about the past and future role of FAO in the seaweed industry. Sometimes information was offered that might be helpful to FAO in making future decisions about the support of projects. The following is a summary of those comments etc. It should be remembered that those making the comments have little information about the detailed policies and procedures of FAO.
These activities, often supported by FAO and similar funding sources, seldom lead to any sustainable commercial developments. There is no doubt that these short-term contracts provide valuable information to host countries, but too often reports remain on government department shelves and, without any follow-up or promotion, there is little prospect of these FAO inputs leading to any commercial development. There needs to be interest from industry/investors as well as governments before such work is undertaken so that there is a driving force towards commercial development after the FAO input is completed.
For FAO to have success in promoting seaweed in developing countries, it needs to consider supporting long-term programmes over three to five years, with less emphasis on short term contracts. It should also consider directing funding towards the commercial sector or consultants with private sector business experience, with less emphasis on local Government projects. The prospects of successful development could be enhanced by the following.
Funding programmes jointly with international processors and importers. International processors will generally want some protection of their investment from competitors, which can be achieved by the host country providing exclusivity to any initial production for a defined and limited period.
Providing a ‘seed’ capital fund for pioneer businesses in developing countries. This could be in the form of low interest loans or grants, which could be written off if the business meets certain criteria, such as exporting a certain amount of product after a three to five year development period.
Supporting, with funding, technical and management assistance, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) such as local co-operatives and women’s groups.
Traditionally supported by FAO and similar bodies, regional workshops are very useful for the exchange of information between individuals and countries. However generally workshop participants come from government departments and institutions and the follow up for promotion of commercial development is often minimal. An example would be the workshop on the cultivation and biotechnology of marine algae held in Cumana, Venezuela in December 1996. The program included 20 speakers of whom 14 were from university/research organisations, three from government and the remaining three were from the single commercial organisation that participated. That company reports that it received negligible follow-up support from FAO and other United Nations (UN) agencies so the question remains as to what were the benefits of the workshop.
The more successful workshops are those that include a commercial partner as a co-sponsor who is willing to pursue and motivate the participants to further activity, as well as provide commercial assistance such as purchase contracts for outputs. An example is the regional workshop organised by FAO and Fiji Marine Colloids (FMC) in Fiji several years ago where the participants were seaweed farmers and local fisheries officers, with the company providing technical support and a guarantee to buy any product.
However regional or country workshops that involve government officials can be of indirect assistance to commercial development by providing officials with information about the industry, its requirements and benefits. Should commercial development later begin and permits, licences etc are required from government, well informed officials can expedite development rather than impede it as sometimes occurs at present. Uninformed officials, given a choice, often take an arbitrary and negative response, as much for their own protection as that of the country, and this occurs in both developed and developing countries.
The view has been expressed that the inputs from expatriate consultants, and associated infrastructure and equipment, have been lost when the project design did not include training of native personnel to continue development when the project period for the externally-funded research came to an end. These comments were made about externally funded projects in general and not specifically about FAO.
For successful development of seaweed cultivation, there must be a demand for the algae and/or their products. The demand can only be classed as real when entrepreneurs are either willing to guarantee purchase of the seaweed or willing to invest money in the venture. The fact that a country spends US$ xx million per year on imports of seaweed products is not enough motivation, there may be better alternatives in the country for investment.
Is the income from seaweed cultivation comparable with the potential income from other sources? In countries where cultivation has been successful (Philippines, Indonesia and United Republic of Tanzania) seaweed cultivation provides a better income for the people involved than other activities. In some parts of Latin America, beach dwellers can get a better income from tourism and fishing shrimp and lobsters; in other parts, such as poor areas of north-east Brazil, seaweed cultivation could be a welcome source of income. Wide price fluctuations of seaweed for the hydrocolloid industry have occurred in the past but buyers are realising that supply can only be ensured by price stability and more buyers are now offering long term buying contracts.
Is a program in place to cope with sociocultural barriers that can arise in changing from a subsistence or fishing living to seaweed farming? For example, fisherman may prefer to be hired and receive a periodic payment for their labour and feel insecure in the change to being owners and managers of their own small farm. Subsistence livers may not wish to adapt to the regular, routine work required in seaweed farming.
Frequently experimental farming trials and wild crop surveys appear promising, but developing countries generally lack the experience in the commercialisation of seaweed production. The lack of sufficient entrepreneurs to invest, in what is initially a high risk development, is frequently a constraint in developing countries. In the absence of private sector funding, governments have frequently become involved in providing funding for development. However governments, whether in developing or developed countries, make poor business operators, generally to the detriment of developing a viable seaweed industry.
Analysis of the most successful and sustainable seaweed industries in developing countries over the last thirty years will show that most have been initiated by international buyers and processors, generally from developed countries. These developments have been market driven and, although supported by aid agencies and research institutions, the catalyst and driving forces have been the international commercial sector. Frequently these initially successful developments have led to the establishment of a viable commercial sector for exporting and processing within the developing country (e.g. Philippines, Indonesia, Chile, and United Republic of Tanzania).
With all new projects, initial surveys and feasibility studies should be done to ensure there is an interested market, that political, social and economic factors are favourable, that logistics and infrastructure are sufficient and that there is government support.
In recent years much effort have gone into developing large scale cultivation of Gracilaria for the agar industry and K. alvarezii plus E. denticulatum for carrageenan production. The costs of cultivation of brown seaweeds for alginate production are too high and such cultivation is only sustainable when the product is sold as human food.
Gracilaria production has been undertaken on a variety of scales, sometimes by former shrimp farmers using one or two former shrimp ponds, sometimes using large areas in protected bays on sandy bottoms. The buyers and agar extractors are often in the same country so transport to factories is relatively easy and both small and large-scale cultivation are viable.
On the other hand carrageenan extraction is mostly in large factories, usually remote from the seaweed source. For cultivation to be commercially viable, production levels in any area need to reach 1 000 tonnes, dry weight, per year (about four shipping containers per month) to cover operating costs and aim for at least 2 000 tonnes per year when fully established. The time frame for development should be about four years, to allow for setbacks from typhoons, El Niño, sickness etc and there should be a qualified project manager in charge with qualified field technicians (usually Filipinos because of the extensive experience in that country) who are in the villages doing training and making sure everyone is pointed in the right direction. Proper funding must be available, US$ two million is a reasonable estimate. Many projects that did not meet the above requirements have failed. At a beach price of US$ 200 per dry tonnes and an output of 2 000 tonnes, US$ 400 000 per year goes directly into the villages so the project money is recouped in the villages after five years.
The agar and carrageenan industries have fairly specific requirements for their algal raw materials and much emphasis has been placed on their cultivation and development.
However the conditions of some coastal communities might be improved by FAO encouraging the cultivation of local species of seaweed for use in local areas and markets, as food or fertilisers or even as seaweed meal for addition to animal fodder. Again there would be a need for a participant with a local commercial interest and FAO might also assist by the provision of seed money to assist the seaweed farmers. Such seaweed farming could be integrated with the traditional activities of fishing etc in the local communities.
A reply received from Great Sea Vegetables has many excellent ideas for developing seaweed uses in third world countries, using a low-technology approach that is very appropriate and practical. Great Sea Vegetables is a company based in Maine, United States, run by a Mexican, David Myslabodski. Editing his reply could not do justice to the ideas that come from reading the letter. Therefore the entire reply is attached as Appendix A.
Most countries adopt a very cautious attitude to the introduction on exotic species of flora and fauna. In regard to seaweeds, accidental introductions have occurred, probably through discharge of ship ballast waters and this has led to a very negative attitude on the part of some government representatives to the introduction of any algae. At present the introduction of Kappaphycus alvaresii, now the main species used by the carrageenan industry, is the subject of much discussion. All evidence currently available indicates that the introduction of this species, for commercial cultivation, has not led to any deleterious effects on the natural biota of the countries involved. Yet many government officials are still reluctant to allow its introduction.
FAO could assume an important role here by arranging for an independent study of the impact of the introduction of both K. alvarezii and Eucheuma denticulatum (the second most important source of carrageenan) over the last 30 years in several countries and weigh that against the effect of NOT introducing them, since their non-introduction may have had a bigger impact on biodiversity. Those commercial interests asking for the introduction of these species argue that, if governments looked at the environmental benefits of the cultivation of these two species and a 30 year history of no major problems from commercial development, plus what villagers do to their coastal environment without seaweed farming (coral harvesting, dynamite and cyanide fishing, reef gleaning until nothing is left on the flats, high nutrient levels from villages and farming, deforestation of coastal hillsides for slash and burn farming causing silation and coral deaths), then governments would understand that seaweed farming actually protects biodiversity. However such arguments are often viewed with suspicion by government officials when they come from commercial interests. If a study by FAO reached similar conclusions and was available to governments, this would be of considerable assistance to the industry and would benefit the coastal communities for the reasons given above.
Kenya does not have very good prospects for a seaweed industry. There is no significant biomass of seaweeds in the wild to sustain such an industry. None of the pilot studies carried out have given any promising results that would encourage investors to venture into seaweed farming.
There is a well established industry based on the extraction of agar from wild Gelidium species. In cooperation with the Laboratoire d'Algologie de Kenitra, the Institut National Resource Halieutique and Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer (IFREMER) France, a useful method has been developed to quantify seaweed resources. Steps are also being taken to identify suitable protected natural sites for seaweed cultivation, presumably with a view to cultivating Gracilaria to supplement the natural resources of Gelidium, for agar production.
Seaweed cultivation has started in the northern part of the country, with assistance from commercial sources, and is still in the development stage but is said to have good potential.
Beach-cast Gracilaria is collected and cultivation is being developed by a local company but the current market is depressed. Wild Laminaria and Ecklonia (kelps) are harvested and dried; they was formerly exported for alginate extraction but are now used for abalone feed, wellness and health products and raw material for fish feed formulations. The President of Namibia has assisted the University of Namibia to develop a research infrastructure at Henties Bay and this will promote research on Namibia's seaweed resources.
There is a company, Algasen that is active in promoting the collection of seaweed, which it buys from villagers for export. Two species are targeted, Meristotheca senegalensis which contains carrageenan but is exported to Japan for use as human food, and Hypnea musciformis, also containing carrageenan. From 1973 to 1981 another company, Senealgue, operated using Hypnea, probably just purchasing and exporting but the quality of the seaweed was too poor (too much sand etc mixed with it). Algasen hopes to overcome this problem. All seaweed collected is wild, there is no cultivation. Algasen plans to start collecting seaweed during the next season for Hypnea, which is in February. Their correspondence indicates some knowledge of the industry although it is difficult to estimate how good it really is. Great Sea Vegetables (see section 4.1.9) may be a useful source of information about activities there and about Algasen.
Natural resources of seaweed are limited and no successful cultivation exists although research findings for Gracilaria exist but their extension to practical farming requires the interest of entrepreneurs willing to invest in farming. About 2 000 tonnes of brown seaweeds are collected from beaches, dried and exported for alginate extraction. A limited amount of fresh kelp (about 500 tonnes) is used to produce an extract that is used as a plant growth stimulant. Some fresh kelp is also collected for feeding abalone. Gelidium for agar extraction is collected in the Eastern Cape, about 200-300 tonnes (dry) annually, and exported. There are no hydrocolloid extraction industries in South Africa, the natural seaweed resources are too small, and no cultivation has been developed.
Seaweed farming of carrageenan-containing seaweeds is well established in Zanzibar where commercial interests assisted the establishment and development of the industry.
There is no regular seaweed-based industry. Some local collection of seaweed can occur for two-three months in the year. There is good growth of the edible red alga, Catanella, in the Sunbarbans mangrove forests, on the pneumatophores. There are said to be some favourable areas for small scale seaweed farming. If further contact is needed, it could be through the Chairman, Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR), Dhaka and the Director, Institute of Marine Science, Chittagong University, Chittagong.
China is probably the most advanced country in methods and development of seaweed cultivation. However there it is realised that the traditional ways of seaweed cultivation, developed in the 1950s to 1970s need to be improved, particularly in the following areas.
Only a few limited species of seaweeds have been successfully cultivated; their cultivation areas are very limited, both geographically and also in terms of total hectares.
Genetically improved strains for a few species have been bred but have not been used effectively for cultivation. Strains being used in the industry are actually confused.
Seedstock technology of cultivated seaweeds during their juvenile stage still has many problems. This affects the result of each cultivation year greatly and needs to be improved so that a more constant harvest size can be obtained from year to year.
Seaweed cultivation on a large scale is still not well developed, in that many cultivation techniques have not been properly managed because of lack of enough scientific knowledge of the processes.
Some of these problems are being addressed in research organisations in China.
A very interesting proposal from China is that seaweed farming should be used as a means of combating the problems that are arising from eutrophication of waters, especially as a result of marine aquaculture in Asia. Extensive mariculture of scallops and other shellfish produces large amounts of N, P and carbon dioxide; fish and shrimp release the same materials via excrement and respiration. Overfeeding of shrimp in ponds and fish in cages produces large amounts of nutrient-rich sediment in their surrounding environments. Autotrophic marine plants like seaweeds feed by absorbing N and P from the water, also carbon dioxide for their photosynthesis. Therefore cultivation of seaweed and marine animals complement each other ecologically. The large scale cultivation of Laminaria japonica in northern China has helped to balance the negative effect from scallop cultivation. China is looking for promising candidates for southern China and believes that species of Gracilaria and Porphyra may be suitable. Like Laminaria in the north, both species would be commercially useful, Gracilaria as a source of agar and as a feed for abalone, Porphyra as a human food.
FAO support for this kind of seaweed cultivation in China could have spin-offs to other countries where similar eutrophication problems exist.
Unfortunately no response was available from one of the principal algal research institutions in India, the Marine Algal Discipline at the Central Salt and Marine Research Institute, Bhavnagar.
The cultivation of carrageenan-containing seaweeds is well established, especially around Bali and Lombok. The industry was established by carrageenan processors and most of the seaweed produced is exported. Ironically the local carrageenan processors find it difficult to obtain raw material at a competitive price.
There is an active agar-extraction industry with factories varying between basic and very sophisticated facilities. The industry depends on locally grown Gracilaria species but suffers because of the low quality of the agar in this seaweed. Seed material is selected on a haphazard basis; the industry needs to have work done on finding and propagating better seed material, one that will grow fast enough but yield a better quality agar. There is a government fisheries research institute on South Sulawesi, where much of the Gracilaria is grown in ponds, with the staff capable of doing this, if it has the funding. The Gracilaria is grown in old shrimp ponds but farmers need capital to buy ponds, or to rent them. To assist potential farmers who cannot afford either, the most modern agar company has been experimenting with a local Gracilaria species that appears to grow well in open seashores or estuaries. However they do not have sufficient knowledge to develop this on a larger scale. This, and the development of better seed material, are areas where FAO could help.
Malaysia provides an example of the need for commercial interests before too much money is invested by FAO and other agencies. Max Doty, in cooperation with the local Fisheries Department, successfully ran a Bay of Bengal Program (BOBP) pilot study on the cultivation of Gracilaria near Penang in the 1980s but the government redirected the funds available into shrimp farming so there was no follow up to that work. Market studies for agar have been made by the University of Malaysia and more recently interest has been revived by the Fisheries Department and the Universiti Sains Malaysia, for both cultivation and improved methods of agar extraction. Yet no commercial activity has resulted. The reasons given are, in summary, that there are easier and better ways of making money in Malaysia that investing in seaweed cultivation and extraction.
There is very little activity in seaweed although it is reported that there are diverse algal beds on in-shore and off-shore areas of the sea all around the coastline. Recently the government has decided to establish a Higher Education Institute in the southern part of the country and this will assist in the development of the marine industry in Sri Lanka.
Wild Gracilaria is collected in the southern part of Thailand, around Pattani. It also grows in Songkhla Lagoon where it is collected from the mesh of the fish cages in which sea bass are grown. It is purchased, about 400 tonnes dry per year, for an agar factory located near Bangkok. However the agar market is very difficult because of the low price of imported material.
Earlier work, supported by FAO, investigated the cultivation of a Gracilaria species that produces the best growth rate and agar in China. Recently this work has been expanded to four other species of Gracilaria that yield a higher quality agar than the Chinese variety and trials are also being run with Kappaphycus alvarezii in the seawaters of central and southern Viet Nam. The work is being done by the Nha Trang Institute of Material Science.
However there are problems in the processing technology for the agar and the products are not good enough even for the local market. Attempts at processing Sargassum, said to be the largest natural resource in Viet Nam, have also encountered problems.
Four useful suggestions were received regarding Argentina. The first is to develop Gracilaria culture from spores. Argentinean Gracilaria plants are not very long and are not easy to culture by vegetative methods (as can be done in Chile using the larger Gracilaria chilensis). Introduction of foreign species is prohibited so native species must be used. On the positive side, the native Gracilaria gracilis yields a good quality agar. There is already an agar producer in Argentina, established for many years; agar production is limited by raw material so the producer may be interested in a cooperative programme to develop cultivation from spores.
The second suggestion is the preparation of human food from Porphyra columbina (nori), Monostroma undulatum (green nori) and Undaria pinnatifida (wakame). There is a small internal market for Porphyra but the suggestion is that the market could be increased and the other two species promoted as well. The present and potential markets would need to be assessed and a potential processor identified before any further development was funded.
The third suggestion is to produce commercial quality carrageenan using Gigartina skottsbergii and Sarcothalia crispata from Santa Cruz province. Harvesting these subtidal species by scuba is difficult and expensive. In Chile some culture of these species has been developed. People have gathered beach-washed material and sold it to the agar factory that also produces carrageenan; the social benefit of this harvest is very low. The potential market for these carrageenophytes, both within Argentina and for export, would need to be assessed before cultivation studies were funded.
The last suggestion is that the large seaweed beds in the south of Argentina should be properly surveyed to determine the quantities and types of natural commercial seaweed. Earlier estimates are available but were not necessarily derived using reliable survey methods.
The opinion has been expressed that some previous FAO projects in Latin America have failed because of the failure to find entrepreneurs to invest money to bring the projects to commercial fruition. However currently a project is being considered by FAO to farm seaweeds by low income, coastal populations in north-east Brazil; the product will be purchased by an existing agar producer whose expansion has been impeded by an insufficient supply of native raw material.
The draft of this project [TCP/BRA/0065(A)] is an excellent example of how a project should be planned and executed. It fulfils the suggestions made by the industry to FAO as outlined earlier in this report (section 4.1). For example, a demand for the products is assured by the participation of a commercial enterprise that will purchase the seaweed; the income from seaweed cultivation is better than any other sources available to these communities; provision has been made to monitor the social and cultural changes that arise as the project progresses (section 4.1.5 of this report). Support for local co-operatives and women’s groups is provided (4.1.2). The project will initially be market driven because of the presence of an agar factory and plans for future markets and expansion will be made after the market study is complete (4.1.6). The report of the Formulation Mission has shown that political, social and economic factors are favourable, that logistics and infrastructure are sufficient and that there is support from the various government bodies involved (4.1.6). A donor sponsored project proposal will be discussed for the follow up and expansion of the activities started by this Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) project, in-country personnel will be trained during the project, so these factors overcome the criticism noted in 4.1.4 of this report. Finally, the purpose is to integrate seaweed cultivation with the normal activities of these coastal people (4.1.8). If the TCP draft proposal becomes available as a public document, pages 2-11 should be attached to this report as Appendix B, as an illustration of how a project should be designed and executed.
During the last 15 years there have been a number of studies by university investigators related to the ecology and biology of potential commercial algae. These studies have provided basic information of algal distribution, seaweed biomass, chemistry of phycocolloids and potential uses of species for algal derived products. However there do not appear to be any large natural beds of commercial seaweeds except perhaps for natural beds of Grateloupia (containing carrageenan) on the Caribbean coast. There are beds of agarophytes in the San Andres Islands but the algal biomass has not been estimated, nor have there been any surveys of seasonal abundance. While Colombia has two large seashores, there is a great diversity of algae rather than concentrations of a few particular algae, such as those found in Chile. It is said that there has been a recent increase in the demand for carrageenan and agar in Colombia.
Market studies and an assessment of commercial interest in investment for seaweed cultivation would be needed before any other funds were committed to development of a seaweed-based industry.
Information about Cuba was derived from sources outside the country. Cuba has successfully cultivated Eucheuma/Kappaphycus. Cuba however does not have the money to expand the cultivation to a point that they could export it, nor to produce enough for their own carrageenan production. Therefore the need is for outside companies interested in joint ventures. With the embargo in place, there are few options remaining.
Cuba did extensive research and development on the production of alginate from Sargassum species, abundant along its coast. There was exchange of information with the FAO-funded group in La Paz but again there are no funds available for an extraction plant. Joint ventures with outside companies are unlikely because most alginate manufacturers regard Sargassum as a poor source of alginate.
There is said to be an interest in cultivating carrageenan-containing seaweeds but no response was available from people with seaweed interests in Guayaquil. An opinion from Mexico is that there may be large seaweed beds in Ecuador but no surveys have been undertaken to confirm this. The same source says that Gracilaria has been cultivated in shrimp ponds to mitigate the effect of “Taura Syndrome” in shrimp culture; at least one producer was successful and was able to find a market for the Gracilaria.
Mexico is unique among Latin American countries in that it has temperate, subtropical and tropical sea conditions. No other country in the region has such marine environmental diversity. The present methods used for the cultivation of Kappaphycus alvarezii and similar carrageenan-containing seaweeds originated 30 years ago in the southern Philippines and although these techniques require very little capital investment, their labour input is very high, their profitability is low and can only be attractive in relatively poor areas where no other profitable commercial activities are available. In many areas of Latin America, including Mexico, more productive cultivation techniques are needed. There is a lack of progress in this area because the work is too applied for many academics and most agencies that fund scientific research do not support development projects. This is scope for FAO intervention here.
To date all seaweed industry in Mexico has been confined to Baja California; Macrocystis for sale to alginate producers in the United States and Gelidium for local agar extraction. Gracilaria, for agar production, is reported in the Pacific and Gulf of California but surveys are needed to quantify the amounts available.
More exhaustive surveys could also be made for the native carrageenan-containing seaweeds but if there is insufficient for commercial production, their cultivation could be tried in regions of the Yucatan peninsular. However a production of at least 200 dry tonnes per year would be required and to develop farms for that quantity would takes several hundred thousand dollars and a four year plan so there would need to be a commercial input if a pilot cultivation proved successful. The better approach would be a combination of private sector and aid money for any pilot project, thus having some private sector support from the outset. This is a possibility in Mexico. However the main native species are not in the very restricted list of algae that the United States Food and Drugs Administration (USFDA) allows for use as carrageenan raw materials so this limits the market for any output. This has led to work being done on the culture of Chondrus crispus, approved by the FDA, and initial studies have shown promising results.
Academia and the private sector in Latin America have tended to look at the phycocolloid industry as the seaweed industry. Although this is not necessarily bad, it has meant that other options have been neglected. Mexico has suggested other options for itself and other Latin American countries. These are: the cultivation of edible species, using seaweeds as a biofilter (as previously noted under China and Ecuador), using seaweeds as fodder for abalone and sea urchins.
Cultivation of edible species such as Undaria, Laminaria and Porphyra would provide a much more attractive financial outcome than any cultivation of seaweeds for phycocolloids. Mexico has waters suitable for such cultivation; local species of Porphyra are known but Undaria and Laminaria would need to be introduced. There is a long history of consumption of native seaweeds by some coastal communities in Mexico, also in Belize, Honduras and Panama. Usually they are agar- or carrageenan-containing species that are dispersed in boiling water, different spices are added and the drink is usually served cold. Puddings and porridges are also prepared by increasing the amount of algal material during the boiling. However the uses of the species proposed above, Undaria etc, would be quite different, to be consumed more in the Japanese/Chinese way. There has been at least one formal request to introduce some of these species in Mexico (and similar cases in Chile and Argentina).
Seaweeds as a biofilter was noted above in the discussion of China (4.3.2). The cultivation of Gracilaria in shrimp ponds was noted for Ecuador (4.4.5). The idea of integrating seaweeds in aquaculture, to reduce the impact of waste water and to generate added value from sale of the seaweed, has gained momentum. In Chile Gracilaria has been tested with salmon and flounder, in the United States Porphyra has been cultivated with fish while in Israel Ulva (a green seaweed often called sea lettuce) has been cultured with abalone. Mexico has done some evaluation of the capacity of Gracilaria as a biofilter in shrimp cultivation.
Seaweeds as fodder for abalone or sea urchin culture is being investigated using local species of Porphyra and Gracilaria. Abalone farms depend on natural seaweed beds for feed but these have proved to be unreliable because of their variable nutritional quality and loss of availability through El Niño. Artificial feeds can produce undesirable flavours as well as sanitation problems. Integrated seaweed cultivation can act as both a feed and a biofilter, improving the water quality. However a fully developed abalone farm may demand up to 15 wet tonnes per day so the chosen seaweeds must be readily cultivated and have good nutritional qualities.
There is at least one company that has been involved in the export of seaweeds for several years. Gigartina chamissoi (or Gigartina chondrocantus) is used by the carrageenan industry and is also used in Japan as part of a seaweed salad. Currently 200 tonnes per year are exported, the potential could be 500 tonnes but this amount is not usually available from natural sources. The demand is relatively low and cultivation, if possible, would only be justified if Japan increased their purchases.
Gracilariopsis was exported in the past to agar producers but the agar quality is low (low gel strength) and, with the increased cultivation of high quality Gracilaria in Chile, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find markets for this seaweed.
Lessonia nigrescens and L. trabeculata are available from natural beds in the south of Peru but the biomass is affected by strong El Niños. In normal years about 3 000 tonnes are exported. Macrocystis pyrifera is also widely available but is exported only in small quantities. These three species are brown seaweeds and not easily cultivated.
Taxonomists find Gelidium, Ahnfeltia and Durvillaea species but the readily accessible quantities are not commercially viable.
One company is very active in promoting the cultivation and use of seaweeds. It is involved in the cultivation of native species of Gracilariopsis, an agar producing seaweed, and the non-indigenous Kappaphycus alvarezii, containing carrageenan. The same company is also developing food products and fertilisers from local seaweeds. Iron bioavailability of some species, mainly Gracilariopsis due to their high iron content, is being examined with a view to adding it to foods to supplement nutritional aspects of the Venezuelan diet.
The introduction of Kappaphycus alvarezii from the Philippines is being monitored for any impact on local flora and fauna; it has an excellent growth rate, a good quality carrageenan and a market has been found for it.
Large financial resources are needed to train people and install farms and a joint venture between the company and an NGO has been awarded funds from the Venezuelan government and a multilateral financial institution for these purposes.
The company believes that FAO should help to educate public administration officers in the benefits of seaweed cultivation (the obstacles they sometimes raise can act as deterrents to investment in seaweed aquaculture), and convince donors of the need for financial resources in soft terms to assist seaweed farmers.
In the West Indies, farming of Gracilaria commenced several years ago. The product is consumed locally, usually in the form of a drink made by extracting the “sea moss” with hot water. More recently Eucheuma has replaced Gracilaria as the main crop but extracts of the replacement do not behave in the same way when milk is added, so some re-education of the processors and users has been necessary. The development of cultivation and processing has been organised and supervised by the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) based in St Lucia. There is cultivation in St Lucia, Barbados and Jamaica. In Guadeloupe, scientists from IFREMER, France, were successful with some pilot cultivation in 1980-83 but there was a lack of interest by the local population so this work was never expanded to a larger scale.
There are some Pacific Island countries that have shown an interest in seaweed cultivation. They may have discussed it, or sent representatives to regional workshops, or actually tried some experimental farming. However no real progress to any commercial scale has resulted in the Cook Islands, New Caledonia, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.
There is activity in four countries: Fiji, Kiribati, Tonga and Vanuatu.
Until the recent coup, Fiji was shipping regular commercial quantities of dried Kappaphycus alvarezii and will probably continue to do so when the country returns to stability. Kiribati has been producing K alvarezii for several years around Tarawa and other islands in the Gilbert Islands and selling it under long term contract to a carrageenan producer. Similar cultivation is under development at Christmas Island in the Line Islands, with assistance from the New Zealand government. There is also some activity in Vanuatu, probably sponsored by a commercial carrageenan producer. Tonga has previously tried to cultivate K. alvarezii but schools of siganids ate the young plants and no method could be devised to overcome this problem. However recently Tonga has successfully exported an edible seaweed, a species of Cladosiphon, to Japan and is considering cultivation with the assistance of the Japanese, who cultivate the same species in southern Japan. This market has been developed through the activities of the FAO regional project based in Fiji.
