Suitability of Seaweed Culture (Eucheuma cottonii) in the Sorkam Barat Sub-District, Tapanuli Tengah Indonesia

Coastal and coral reef ecosystem areas in the Sorkam Barat Tapanuli Tengah may be potential sites for seaweed culture. To understand the suitability of that area for planting the seaweed, an initial study was conducted using a Geographic Information System (GIS). The environmental conditions as well as water quality parameters were analysed. The physical and chemical oceanographic factors parameters measured were wave height, temperature, salinity, depth, tide, brightness, pH, current velocity, and dissolved oxygen. While the water quality parameters measured were Total Suspended Solid (TSS), nitrate (NO3) and phosphate (PO4). Results shown that the water quality of the Sorkam Barat could be categorized as appropriate and quite suitable for the cultivation of Eucheuma cottonii. The suitable area for culture was 3,625.96 ha (92.5%) and the not suitable area was 294.18 ha (7.5%). The recommended planting method is the long-line system path method.

IDENTIFICATION OF VIBRIOSIS FROM SEAWEED CULTURE IN LOMBOK, WEST NUSA TENGGARA

The aim of the study was to identify vibrio disease in Eucheuma cottonii samples which had the characteristics of ice-ice disease, namely the thallus was whitish and broken. The research was conducted at two locations in Lombok, namely in Ekas Bay and in the waters of Buwun Mas Village. The samples were identified as vibrio bacteria at the Sekotong Marine Aquaculture Center using biochemical methods. The results showed that vibrio bacteria were associated with ice-ice disease in the observed seaweeds. The types of vibrio bacteria that cause ice-ice disease in samples in Ekas Bay and Buwun Mas are Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio alginolyticus, and Vibrio damsela.

Socioeconomic factors affecting profitability of seaweed culture in Saint Martin Island of Bangladesh

Seaweed culture provides financial benefits and creates employment opportunity for coastal inhabitants of Bangladesh. This study was conducted to assess profitability and to determine the socioeconomic factors that affect the profitability of seaweed culture in the coastal region. Primary data were collected from 33 seaweed farmers for the study. The data were collected during the period of March 15 to March 31, 2018 through direct interviews and observation using a semi structured questionnaire and a check list. Both tabular and functional analyses were used to achieve the objectives of the study. It is evident from the study that seaweed culture is a profitable business. The total per square-meter cost of seaweed production was Tk. 1520 with a gross return of Tk. 2801.4 and net return was estimated at Tk. 1281.4 with a Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) 1.82. To estimate the contribution of different inputs on seaweed production through Cobb-Douglas production function, the explanatory variables considered were: bamboo cost, rope cost, human labour cost, repairing cost, age, experience, training, education and number of family members. Among these variables, labour and training were found positively significant at 1 percent level of significance with the regression coefficient of 0.209 and 0.556, respectively. This indicates that seaweed culture might be brought economic benefits of the community if they received more training and employ more labour. Therefore, policy should be focused on creating appropriate training arrangement and skilled labour to the coastal community for getting higher benefit. Seaweed farmers think that seaweed culture can be adopted as an alternative livelihood option if the government and other stakeholders help them with necessary supports for seaweed culture. Progressive Agriculture 31 (3): 227-234, 2020

Mapping and estimating harvest potential of seaweed culture using Worldview-2 Satellite images: a case study in Nusa Lembongan, Bali − Indonesia

Unreliable information on harvest potential is a persistent challenge for the Indonesian government and industry alike to manage an efficient supply chain of seaweed raw material. The use of remote sensing technology to assess seaweed harvest potential has been scarcely available in the literature. This current research aimed at estimating the harvest potential of seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii through remote sensing using supervised classification with maximum likelihood (MLC) and contextual editing (CE) methods. This research evaluated the capabilities of different band combinations along with depth invariant index (DII) to enhance the remote sensing accuracy in estimating seaweed harvest potential. The seaweed classification using Worldview-2 imagery was compared with the in-situ references (ground-truthing). The potential data bias resulted from different imagery acquisition timestamps with the in-situ measurement was kept minimal as both data time stamps were ten days apart and within the same seaweed culture cycle. The average dry weight of all seaweed samples collected during the research was 924 ± 278.91 g/m2 with culture ages between 1 and 40 days. The classification results based on MLC+CE with a 5-band combination method without DII showed a better correlation and closer fit with the in-situ references compared to the other methods, with an overall accuracy of 79.05% and Tau coefficient value of 0.75. The estimated total harvest potential based on the combined seaweed classes was 531.26 ± 250.29 tons dry weight.

PEMANFAATAN LOKASI TAMBAK KAWASAN ALUE NAGA ACEH BESAR UNTUK PENGEMBANGAN BUDIDAYA RUMPUT LAUT JENIS GLACILARIA MENGGUNAKAN FLOATING HOUSE METHOD DALAM MENDUKUNG KETAHANAN PANGAN

Aceh Province is an area surrounded by coasts which has great potential to develop marine product cultivation, one of which is seaweed. In line with the goal of the central government in 2018 stating its support for increaseing seaweed cultivation in Aceh Province. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries' Directorate General of Cultivation stated that so far the seaweed industry and cultivation are still constrained by transportation problems for marketing. Based on the results of research in a number of regions in Indonesia, it is explained that the coastal area of Aceh is an area that has very good potential for the seaweed cultivation. This study focuses on the Glacilaria sp seaweed cultivation due to its easiness to grow in community ponds. The drawback of this pond cultication method is the existence of predators that eat seaweed and the pond bottom mud that pollutes the seaweed. The application of floating house technology for glacilaria seaweed culture is seen as a solution for aforemention problems. This technology protects the seaweed from predators and the contamination of the seawee from mud pond. The proposed sea seaweed cultivation method is anticipated to offer better income and improve the quality of life of the community, especially in the the targeted area, Alue Naga. Regarding the current situation, Farmer in Alue Naga still practice the conventional method for cultivating the seaweed in the land pond. This regular method has the shortcoming in protecting the seeweed from the predators. In addition, due to the seaweed attached to the bottom of the pond, it causes the slow growth of seaweed. These circumstances cause the crops have lower quality, result in a hardly marketable product either for national or international markets. To cope with such conditions, an easy to use, reliable and safety floating house was proposed and built for the use of glacilaria seaweed culture. The community is also engaged in the workshop and construction of floating house for the glacilaria seaweed culture taught by staff of Cot Irieh Fiberlass workshop. This engagement aims to increase the insight and skill of the community regarding construction and maintenance of the glacilaria seaweed culture floating house. This study is fully supported by Syiah Kuala University Research and Community Service Institute through fostering the Alue Naga fishing community through direct application of technology.

Pemberdayaan Kelompok Masyarakat Pesisir Melalui Budidaya Rumput Laut Metode Vertikultur di Kawasan Perdesaan Tumbuh Lestari Desa Rambu Rambu, Kabupaten Konawe Selatan

Rambu-rambu Village is one of the villages clustered within the Tumbuh Lestari rural area of North Konawe District. The main purpose of this project was to empower the coastal community groups in Rambu-rambu Village through the introduction of in-cage verticulture farming of seaweed. The project was carried out within the scheme of Community Service Program (PKM/Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat) funded by the University of Halu Oleo. The project lasted for 30 days from 29 June to 28 July 2019. The activity consisted of three stages, are initial dissemination activity, preparation of the training, and implementation of training of seaweed culture. The project involved 20 students of the University of Halu Oleo and 42 people from fishermen, fisherme wifes, and farmer groups. Before the training was conducted 66.7% of the participants did not have the knowledge and after the training 71.4% of the respondents gained an understanding regarding the seaweed verticulture farming method. The improvement of skill was also evident where before the training, 81% of the participants were not able to do seaweed farming method and after the training, 61.9% of the participants were capable or skilled of repeating the seaweed verticulture method. The increased knowledge of the participants could be described from their ability to clearly explain types of seaweed species used, the benefits of seaweed, and the characteristics of high quality of seaweed seed. The improved skill of the participants were also observed from their skill in constructing the seaweed raft and seaweed net cage, tying up the seaweed seed, and conducting the observation of water quality condition in the location of seaweed farming. The result of this activity showed an increased of knowledge and skill of the trained participants regarding seaweed farming using verticulture method.

Ecological and economic assessment of the role of seaweeds in abalone integrated multi-trophic aquaculture - a South African case study.

South Africa (SA) is the world's third largest abalone producer. The industry is now challenged by restrictions on access to wild kelp, which is the natural food for abalone. Abalone farmers in SA have recently begun implementing integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) with the seaweed Ulva lactuca L. and the abalone Haliotis midae L. The positive aspects include: (1) better abalone growth when fed with mixed algae diet, (2) farm effluent reduction, (3) avoidance of contaminated seawater during red tides/oil spills, (4) promoting employment in rural coastal communities. This case study presents a quantification exercise that compares the ecological-economic costs/benefits associated with the seaweed-culture integration into the abalone industry. Data from an abalone farm from the Western Cape with annual production of 240 metric tonnes (MT) was used. The ecological-economic performance of abalone production in monoculture using a water flow-thorough system was compared against two IMTA scenarios, with water recirculation through a seaweed culture unit that replaces part of the wild kelp consumption. The comparison of monoculture with IMTA scenarios indicates an overall economic gain of between 1.1-3.0 million US$ per year. This range of values reflects the effects of adopting IMTA on the farm's profit and the environmental gains, which represent 80% of the estimated overall benefits and includes: avoided kelp bed restoration, reduced nutrient discharge and avoided greenhouse gas emissions (due to energy savings). This analysis is particularly important in informing the SA industry and regulators about the value of the implementation by the abalone farmers of IMTA systems. For this particular case study the message is that the IMTA approach provides substantial economic incentives to the abalone farmers and even larger benefits to the public, compared with the abalone monoculture production.

Potential of seaweed culture on St Martin's Island, Bangladesh.

Seaweeds grow abundantly along the Sundarban coast and St. Martin's Island. Twenty-two kinds of seaweed have been recorded in the coastal waters of Bangladesh, most of them from St. Martin's Island. St. Martin's Island, Ukhia and Teknaf Upazilla and the sheltered coast of the Bay of Bengal and its surrounding area have potential for seaweed culture. Moreover, the physico-chemical properties in the area are also suitable for seaweed culture. Presently, fishermen, women and children on St. Martin's Island are engaged in seaweed collection, drying and selling to middlemen who smuggle it to Burma. The communities benefit little and the Government does not gain revenue from these activities. Seaweed culture could provide an alternative livelihood for poor fishermen and help to develop seaweed business, which would increase export revenue for the Government. Furthermore, the environment and biodiversity would be safeguarded, as seaweed culture is environmental friendly.