Breeding in the Economically Important Brown Alga Undaria pinnatifida: A Concise Review and Future Prospects

Undaria pinnatifida is the commercially second most important brown alga in the world. Its global annual yield has been more than two million tonnes since 2012. It is extensively cultivated in East Asia, mainly consumed as food but also used as feed for aquacultural animals and raw materials for extraction of chemicals applicable in pharmaceutics and cosmetics. Cultivar breeding, which is conducted on the basis of characteristics of the life history, plays a pivotal role in seaweed farming industry. The common basic life history shared by kelps determines that their cultivar breeding strategies are similar. Cultivar breeding and cultivation methods of U. pinnatifida have usually been learned or directly transferred from those of Saccharina japonica. However, recent studies have revealed certain peculiarity in the life history of U. pinnatifida. In this article, we review the studies relevant to cultivar breeding in this alga, including the peculiar component of the life history, and the genetics, transcriptomics and genomics tools available, as well as the main cultivar breeding methods. Then we discuss the prospects of cultivar breeding based on our understanding of this kelp and what we can learn from the model brown alga and land crops.

Seaweed farming and seaweed capture fishermen phenomenon in Sebatik Strait, Nunukan Regency

Nunukan Regency - North Kalimantan, is currently one of the biggest producers of Kappaphycus alvarezii in Indonesia. The large number of seaweed farmers showed that the seaweed business economically increases the Nunukan and surrounding community’s income. An interesting phenomenon in the Nunukan Regency is the fishermen who capturing seaweed drifted due to sea currents. Conflicts of sea area utilization are still an issue in Sebatik Strait. This paper aims to analyze the prevalence of conflicts arising from space competition between seaweed catcher and seaweed farmer. This study was conducted using existing field data and reviewing secondary data usinga descriptive and quantitative approach. The field data was obtained by in-depth interviews and distributed questionnaires to seaweed farmers and seaweed stakeholders in Nunukan region. The recommendations for seaweed business development strategies are divided into three strategies: short-term, mid-term, and long-term strategies in the Sebatik Strait, presented at the end of this paper.

Seaweed Aquaculture in Indonesia Contributes to Social and Economic Aspects of Livelihoods and Community Wellbeing

Seaweed farming in Indonesia is carried out throughout much of the archipelago and is mainly undertaken by smallholder farmers. Indonesia is the largest global producer of the red seaweeds Kappaphycus and Eucheuma, which are used to produce carrageenan, and is a major producer of Gracilaria, which is used to produce agar. Seaweed farming is attractive to farmers in rural coastal communities because capital and operating costs are low, farming techniques are not technically demanding, labour requirements are relatively low (allowing farmers to engage in other livelihoods), and production cycles are short (30–45 days), providing regular income. Using reported values for seaweed-farming income, we conclude that seaweed farming can, but does not always, lift rural households above the Indonesian poverty line. In addition to direct financial benefits, seaweed farming also contributes to human and social capital within seaweed farming households and communities. Achieving continued economic and social benefits from seaweed farming will require additional policy development, as well as research and development to support improved and more consistent seaweed productivity and improved product quality at the farm level, provision of effective extension and technical support services, and diversification of the existing value chains in order to reduce the impacts of price fluctuations that are associated with limited global commodity chains.

Women Farmers as Entrepreneur in the Sebatik-Nunukan Border, North Kalimantan Province

Policies in the economic and development sector still place men as the main actors, women only as “task assistants” in economic activities. The women of Liang Bunyu village in West Sebatik District make Seaweed farming a source of household income and become a leading commodity in village economic development. The women in the village bind seaweed farming for the nursery. A job that men are reluctant to do, but the most important part of the production process. This paper discussed how Sebatik women play a crucial role in making seaweed cultivation a household business. It will be an essential input for the local government policy of developing a household business driven by housewives. The research method used was a qualitative description with an ethnographic approach to make participant observations and in-depth interviews are accurate in collecting data and field findings. The research found that Sebatik women had the prospect to be an entrepreneur. It's just that Sebatik's economic development does not necessarily increase women's empowerment. Not many Sebatik women farmers think about selling seaweed as a processed product, which is more economically valuable and profitable. Education and community culture were the main causes, even though kinship and ethnic networks could function as economic capital. Sebatik woman farmers need government support in both policy regulation and practical assistance, especially in entrepreneurial training.

Marketing and Income Analysis of Seaweed Farming Business

The purpose of this research is to conduct a marketing and revenue analysis of seaweed producers. This study takes a qualitative approach via the use of exploratory research techniques. This research included all farmers who grow seaweed. The Slovin formula was used to calculate the sample size, which was 40 heads of households. The sample is determined using a basic random sampling technique. While data gathering is accomplished via interviews, observation, and documentation. Farmers market their seaweed goods in two ways, first to middleman merchants, then to collectors, and lastly to inter-city traders. Second, farmers sell their produce to collectors, who subsequently distribute it to intercity merchants. The average revenue earned by seaweed growers. That is 6 USD –830 USD in a single manufacturing process, indicating that seaweed farming is lucrative and possible to expand, but that production expenses must be more efficiently used to achieve larger profits