Seaweeds: an opportunity for wealth and sustainable livelihood for coastal communities

Abstract

The European, Canadian, and Latin American seaweed industries rely on the sustainable harvesting of natural resources. As several countries wish to increase their activity, the harvest should be managed according to integrated and participatory governance regimes to ensure production within a long-term perspective. Development of regulations and directives enabling the sustainable exploitation of natural resources must therefore be brought to the national and international political agenda in order to ensure environmental, social, and economic values in the coastal areas around the world. In Europe, Portugal requires an appraisal of seaweed management plans while Norway and Canada have developed and implemented coastal management plans including well-established and sustainable exploitation of their natural seaweed resources. Whereas, in Latin America, different scenarios of seaweed exploitation can be observed; each country is however in need of long-term and ecosystem-based management plans to ensure that exploitation is sustainable. These plans are required particularly in Peru and Brazil, while Chile has succeeded in establishing a sustainable seaweed-harvesting plan for most of the economically important seaweeds. Furthermore, in both Europe and Latin America, seaweed aquaculture is at its infancy and development will have to overcome numerous challenges at different levels (i.e., technology, biology, policy). Thus, there is a need for regulations and establishment of “best practices” for seaweed harvesting, management, and cultivation. Trained human resources will also be required to provide information and education to the communities involved, to enable seaweed utilization to become a profitable business and provide better income opportunities to coastal communities.

Can Seaweed Farming Play a Role in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation?

“…However, establishing a seaweed farm in some areas of the world is rather inexpensive, requiring for instance an initial investment of <US $ 15,000 for a 1 ha seaweed farm in Mexico (Robledo et al, 2013), whereas the cost of a state-of-the-art offshore wind turbine, including installation, is about US $ 1.5 million per turbine, and involves order-ofmagnitude larger maintenance costs. Hence, many developing nations cannot afford addressing climate change mitigation through high-cost solutions, such as off-shore wind farms, but can indeed establish seaweed farms, and thereby in addition to climate mitigation, they will be producing a valuable biomass with potential for delivering food, feed, biomolecules, and energy http://www.fao.org/docrep/field/003/AC287E/AC287E01.htm (Msuya, 2011;Rebours et al, 2014). Moreover, "blue" biofuels, such as seaweed biofuels, do not compete for resources with agriculture, as they do not require arable land, freshwater or fertilizer, herbicide or pesticide applications and are, therefore in many respects, more environmentally sustainable than current biofuels derived from land crops (Duarte et al, , 2013.…”

Charting the course for a blue economy in Peru: a research agenda

“…Peruvian seas' high biodiversity underpins a range of Ecosystem Services (ES) of significant economic and social value (Sevilla and Le Bail 2017) including provision of food and seaweed (Rebours et al 2014); climate regulation and coastal protection (Sevilla and Le Bail 2017); cultural services including coastal tourism (Guezel and Wickel 2015) and primary production and nutrient cycling (Bakun and Weeks 2008). The expansion of the MPA network will contribute to the continued delivery and enhancement of these services: a well-designed MPA could support local fisheries; increase spatial protection of charismatic species leading to opportunities for ecotourism; and support the resilience of coastal communities by protecting habitats important for climate regulation and supporting services.…”

Farming of seaweeds

“…Depending on the reproductive characteristics of the species, a few individuals per given area can be left unharvested to maintain natural repopulation (e.g., Barilotti and Zertuche-González, 1990). An account of harvesting from the wild as well as recommendations to promote it while increasing sustainability are provided by Rebours et al (2014).…”

“…This inertia is being actively addressed in many parts of the world as evidenced by the growing body of literature promoting or describing seaweed farming and use (e.g., Teitelbaum, 2003;Lee, 2008;Neori, 2008;Robaina Romero et al, 2008;Edwards and Watson, 2011;Msuya, 2011;Winberg et al, 2011;Al-Hafedh et al, 2012;De San, 2012;Jaspars and Folmer, 2013;Mouritsen, 2013;Radulovich et al, 2013Radulovich et al, , 2015Valderrama et al, 2013;Hayashi et al, 2014;Hurd et al, 2014;Philippsen et al, 2014;Rebours et al, 2014;Redmond et al, 2014a,b;SINTEF, 2014;Baghel et al, 2015;Loureiro et al, 2015). This inertia is being actively addressed in many parts of the world as evidenced by the growing body of literature promoting or describing seaweed farming and use (e.g., Teitelbaum, 2003;Lee, 2008;Neori, 2008;Robaina Romero et al, 2008;Edwards and Watson, 2011;Msuya, 2011;Winberg et al, 2011;Al-Hafedh et al, 2012;De San, 2012;Jaspars and Folmer, 2013;Mouritsen, 2013;Radulovich et al, 2013Radulovich et al, , 2015Valderrama et al, 2013;Hayashi et al, 2014;Hurd et al, 2014;Philippsen et al, 2014;…”

“…However, the need "for regulations and the establishment of 'best practices' for seaweed harvesting, management and cultivation" has been noted (Rebours et al, 2014), and these must be developed and applied. As the general principles and purposes that determine seaweed farming are consolidated, a deductive or principlebased approach will strengthen the prevailing inductive or case-based approach, contributing to the next phase of the industry's growth.…”