Page 16 - FAO Aquaculture News, May 2021 - No. 63

the productivity of kelp cultivation
but also expanded farming activities
to geographical areas with warmer
seawater temperatures (for example
the Fujian Province in South-
eastern China).

Kappaphycus/Eucheuma appeared
to be a rising star challenging
the dominance of kelp in global
seaweed aquaculture (Figure 3). ©FAO/GS Putro (photo taken before COVID-19 pandemic)
Technical breakthroughs in the
production of less expensive food-
grade semi-refined carrageenan
have significantly increased the
demand for carrageenan by the food Women cleaning and sorting Eucheuma seaweeds placed to dry under the sun. West Global Aquaculture Updates
processing industry in developing Sumba, Indonesia.
regions (particularly China). The
strong demand has helped Indonesia to become the main Similar to Kappaphycus/Eucheuma yet to a lesser extent,
supplier of carrageenan seaweeds since the late 2000s. Key cultivation of Gracilaria (primarily used for the extraction of
factors behind the success include (i) conducive climate agar) increased from 70 000 tonnes in 2000 to 3.6 million
conditions for tropical seaweed farming; (ii) abundant tonnes in 2019 (Figure 3). China contributed to most of
suitable cultivation sites in this extended archipelago the growth and accounted for 96 percent of the production
made accessible by effective community-based coastal in 2019. In addition to being used to extract agar, a large
management; and (iii) a large labour force in rural fishing amount of China’s Gracilaria production has been used
communities looking for alternative activities to support to feed abalone. Besides China, Indonesia was the only
their livelihoods threatened by overfishing. country with Gracilaria cultivation over 100 000 tonnes in
the same year. It has been a popular practice in the country
In 2019, Indonesia and the Philippines accounted for, to cultivate Gracilaria in shrimp ponds. Besides China and
respectively, 84 and 13 percent of the 11.6 million tonnes of Indonesia, Chile and Viet Nam are another two countries
world aquaculture production of Kappaphycus/Eucheuma, with relatively large Gracilaria cultivation (over 10 000
and the rest was contributed by a number of countries in tonnes in 2019).
Asia (primarily Malaysia and Viet Nam), Africa (primarily
United Republic of Tanzania and Madagascar) and the Porphyra/Pyropia is a high-value cold-water red seaweed
Pacific (primarily Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea primarily for direct human consumption. Japan was the
and Kiribati) (Table 1). Kappaphycus has been the main largest Porphyra/Pyropia producer in 1990, accounting for
species in all the countries except for Zanzibar (United 70 percent of the world production. Despite the decline of
Republic of Tanzania) where lower-valued Eucheuma Porphyra/Pyropia production in Japan from 387 000 tonnes
denticulatum was resorted to when the attempt to cultivate in 1990 to 251 000 tonnes 2019, the world Porphyra/Pyropia
Kappaphycus failed because of disease problems. aquaculture production increased to 3 million tonnes in
2019 thanks to production expansion in China and the
Republic of Korea, which accounted for, respectively,
71 percent and 20 percent of the world production. The
FIGURE 3 – World seaweed aquaculture production by major USD 2.7 billion of world production value ranked it second
species groups, 1990–2019.
Figure 3: World seaweed aquaculture production by major species groups, 1990–2019 in terms of value (only lower than the USD 4.6 billion
of kelp production). Indeed, while in terms of tonnage
Quantity (million wet tonnes) Kappaphycus/Eucheuma aquaculture production in 2019
was nearly four times as high as that of Porphyra/Pyropia,
Value (million USD) 12,3
11,6 the production value of the former was nevertheless only 90
4,6 percent of the latter (Figure 3) because of the much higher
2,4 2,7
2,0 1,9
price of Porphyra/Pyropia (average USD 0.89 kg in 2019)
compared to Kappaphycus/Eucheuma (USD 0.21/kg) as
2019
6,5 well as the other three major seaweed species groups: kelp
5,4 5,6
(Laminaria/Saccharina; USD 0.37/kg), Gracilaria (USD
3,6 0.54/kg) and Undaria (USD 0.75/kg). This reflects the
3,0
2,5 2,6
1,7 1,6 1,5 stylized fact that seaweeds for direct human consumption
0,9 1,0
0,3 0,1 0,6 0,5 0,1 0,3 tend to fetch a higher price than those for industrial uses.
1990 2000 2010 2019
Laminaria/Saccharina Kappaphycus/Eucheuma Gracilaria Porphyra/Pyropia Undaria In 1990, the Republic of Korea and Japan accounted for,
respectively, 59 percent and 25 percent of world cultivation

FAO AQUACULTURE NEWS – Nº. 63 ■ MAY 2021 15

Image 1
Seaweed farmer preparing a line with Eucheuma cuttings for ongrowing. West Sumba, Indonesia (C)
FAO/Lovatelli

Image 2
Women cleaning and sorting Eucheuma seaweeds placed to dry under the sun. West Sumba, Indonesia
(C) FAO/GS Putro