World Aquaculture 37 Fig. 4. A Cottonii farm in Uroa, Zanzibar in the year 2006. The species has failed and Spinousm is now cultivated on this farm. operating his farm allegedly because the price of seaweed was “a female price,” meaning that it can be tolerated by women but not by men who need more cash. The man was a very active farmer, having built his own house with money obtained from seaweed farming. When he was ready to marry he used the money obtained from seaweed sales as a dowry and for wedding celebrations. While very few men farm seaweed on Zanzibar island, more men still farm seaweed in Pemba island and mainland Tanzania, especially in the southern regions. People may have more alternatives in Zanzibar, owing to thriving tourism compared with other coastal regions on Pemba and mainland Tanzania. In areas where the seaweed die-offs are severe, such as Songosongo island, farmers do not have enough food and they definitely cannot have a balanced diet. It is not unusual to stay in Songosongo for three or four days and not be able to have vegetables in your meals. Whereas farmers used to earn cash from seaweed sales, they are now earning nothing and they are getting poorer everyday. Most families cannot afford three meals a day. Those people who are considered well-off, such as government officials or employees of the seaweed buying companies, who can afford to have three meals a day, eat the food to have something in their bellies but not to be satisfied as should be the case. Although these can afford to have three meals a day, their meals, however, just like the rest of the community, hardly contain any vegetables and fruits, these being very scarce in the village. Effect on Community Services Percent of money given for community development. Usually exporters allocate a certain percentage of their seaweed business funds for community development or provide direct services. An example of this is a 5 percent incentive offered in one village in Zanzibar by C-weed Company, one of the six buying companies. Because of the failure of cottonii cultivation, such service has been terminated in some areas, such as in the Songosongo island, southern Tanzania. On this island, the seaweed exporting companies were contributing US$ 267 per month for community development but because of the die-offs followed by drastic decrease in seaweed production, nothing was paid by 2009 (Msuya and Porter 2009). This could be similar situation in other areas where production has decreased, at least the amount paid or the frequency of payment could be greatly affected. Temperature Increase Water temperature at seaweed farms have been increasing over the years. It has been reported that water temperature on seaweed farms recorded in 2007-2009 were higher than those recorded in the 1990s. Highs increased from below 30oC in the 1990s to 38oC in 2008 (Msuya and Porter 2009). In other tropical countries, temperatures on seaweed farms have been below 32oC (Qian et al. 1996, Hurtado et al. 2008). What Are Stakeholders Doing? Various stakeholders are trying to help the seaweed farmers. Exporters of seaweed, for example, are bringing in new varieties of cottonii as alternatives to the failing variety. Likewise, the governments of Tanzania (GoT) and Zanzibar (SMZ) are boosting production through formation of an Aquaculture Department within the Ministry of Agriculture (GoT) and funding alternative activities through different donorfunded projects (GoT and SMZ). Initiatives, such as the Seaweed Cluster Initiative in Zanzibar (ZaSCI, www.zasci. co.tz), are engaged in innovation of the farming method by using the deep-water farming technique and adding value to the low priced spinosum. Other efforts being taken by seaweed buying companies include promoting higher production of spinosum by giving gifts to the best farmers and increasing the price of both species as a motivation to farmers. Conclusion Changes in environmental conditions have greatly affected the production of one species of seaweed in Tanzania leading to shifting cultivation sites and farmers getting less money than they used to. The die-off of the higher valued seaweed species cottonii, coupled with the price differential in Tanzania, is greatly affecting the farmers. There are farmers on Songosongo island, for instance, getting poorer every day. Men are leaving seaweed farming and women are getting discouraged, although they are holding on because of lack of alternatives. The various efforts to help the farmers should be encouraged and, where possible, other stakeholders should be encouraged to help. An integrated, united effort where one party builds on what another has done should be encouraged. Notes 1Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Dar es Salaam, P.O. Box 668, Zanzibar, Tanzania. Tel: +255 24 2230741, Fax: +255 24 2230741, Mobile: +255 786 629374; +255 777 490807. Email: flowereze@yahoo.com, msuya@ims. udsm.ac.tz. 2Songosongo is an island that has no arable land (the land is dry and rocky) so no (Continued on page 71)
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