An analysis of the current status and future of biosecurity frameworks for the Indonesian seaweed industry

Abstract

Indonesia is the world largest producer of the red seaweeds Kappaphycus and Eucheuma; however, this country is facing significant challenges such as disease outbreaks, epiphyte infestations and a loss in seedling quality. Biosecurity practices have been widely adopted in other aquaculture sectors and when enforced can help to limit the introduction and spread of diseases and pests. To assess current capacity for biosecurity in seaweed aquaculture in Indonesia, a systematic analysis of policy frameworks including legislation, regulatory tools, and national standards was conducted. Biosecurity themes and risks were used to evaluate current national biosecurity content. The results identified major challenges faced by the industry in order to implement biosecurity policies in practice. Barriers to implementation included unspecific reference to the seaweed aquaculture sector, limited variety of approaches to biosecurity, limited use of up-to-date scientific evidence, insufficient guidance for the use of precaution and insufficient inclusion of specific biosecurity hazards. In general, although national regulations are currently under revision, current policies indicate a lack of clarity where biosecurity is included. Six recommendations are suggested to incorporate proactive biosecurity actions into current frameworks, with the aim of improving the health and sustainability of the seaweed aquaculture sector in Indonesia.

Understanding biosecurity: knowledge, attitudes and practices of seaweed farmers in the Philippines

“…These challenges included (1) inconsistent terminology for the inclusion of seaweeds in regulatory frameworks, (2) limited guidance for the responsibility of implementation of biosecurity measures, (3) insufficient evidence to develop disease and pest-specific policies and (4) lack of a coherent approach to seaweed biosecurity risk management in international policies. The report of Kambey et al (2020) and Mateo et al (2020) demonstrated similar issues, as far as national biosecurity-related regulations and policies were concerned in Indonesia and the Philippines, respectively. These issues included (1) a lack of a "recognized" national authority to enforce regulations;…”

Biosecurity policy and legislation of the seaweed aquaculture industry in Tanzania

“…In order to understand the scope and objectives of selected biosecurity frameworks, five "themes" were analysed based on methods used by Campbell et al (2019a) and Kambey et al (2020). The themes included the force of the framework, the terminology used for the inclusion of seaweed aquaculture, the approach taken to implement biosecurity measures, the information type used to inform the text and the inclusion of the precautionary approach.…”

“…The biosecurity risks associated with seaweed farming in Tanzania were identified in the framework texts, using a list of categorised risks, as listed in Campbell et al (2019a) and Kambey et al (2020). Risks were identified in texts of the frameworks, and quantified under five categories including ecological, environmental, ecosystem, economic, social and farmer welfare.…”

“…Using the methods in Kambey et al (2020), sixteen possible components of a national biosecurity strategy were used to analyse the selected frameworks for the Tanzanian seaweed industry. Each of the components were identified in the texts and quantified to understand their use in current prominence in national biosecurity strategy.…”

“…Biosecurity legislation and policies have been introduced and their measures incorporated into the management of farms across many aquaculture sectors (Rodgers et al 2015;Stentiford et al 2017). However, the seaweed aquaculture industry has been slow to adopt this approach (Cottier- Cook et al 2016) and it is poorly integrated into policy and legislation at both the international and national scales (Campbell et al 2019a;Kambey et al 2020).…”