32 JUNE 2014 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG The global seaweed processing industry is estimated to use some 10-12 million t of seaweeds (frozen weight) annually, collected as ‘wild harvest’ or cultivated in offshore and onshore farms. The bulk of seaweed produced globally is from aquaculture, categorized as cultivated production (FAO 2012, Fig. 1). Wild harvest of seaweeds only accounted for about 4.5 percent of total seaweed production in 2010. While cultivated seaweed production has grown by about 50 percent in the last decade, seaweeds harvested from the wild have declined from about 1.2 million t in 2000 to about 0.9 million t in 2010. Even with seaweed aquaculture growing rapidly over the last decade, global demand for seaweed-based products has surpassed supply (Lee 2008). There is a large and diverse array of applications and uses of macroalgal products. The seaweed industry is estimated to have an annual value of some US$6 billion, the largest share of which (US$5 billion) is human food products (McHugh 2003). The remaining US$1 billion is largely based on seaweed extracts, such as hydrocolloids for use in animal feeds, fertilizers and bioactives (Table 1, Lee 2008). At least 221 species of seaweeds are exploited globally, with 145 species for food and 101 species for phycocolloid production. These include 32 chlorophytes, 125 rhodophytes and 64 phaeophytes (Zemke-White and Ohno 1999). Approximately ten species are intensively cultivated, particularly the brown algae Laminaria japonica, Undaria pinnatifida and the red algae, Porphyra spp., Porphyra tenera, Eucheuma spp., Kappaphycus alvarezii and Gracilaria spp. and Gracilaria verrucosa (Wikfors and Ohno 2001). Current Status of Global Cultivated Seaweed Production and Markets Sasi Nayar and Kriston Bott Access to statistics on seaweed production is largely dependent on annual publications of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), such as ‘The State of World’s Fisheries and Aquaculture.’ The report published in 2012 only comprises production statistics for 2010, with market data from 2009. The FAO has acknowledged the shortcomings and it continually relies on member countries for the provision of data, including production statistics, which are often revisited and revised (Buchholz et. al. 2012). The purpose of this article is to review recent published literature on global seaweed production statistics and tease out the finer details of this unique resource. Wild Harvested Seaweed Production The global seaweed production from wild harvest is declining and now accounts for less than 5 percent of the global seaweed production (FAO 2010, 2011, 2012). Wild harvest includes harvesting of seaweeds by hand or collection of beach cast/drift algae (Fig. 2). Chile leads and accounts for 42 percent of the global seaweed wild harvest production, followed by China (28 percent), Canada (4 percent), France (3 percent), Iceland and Japan (2 percent each) and South Korea, Morocco, South Africa and USA (1 percent each) (Fig. 3). The dominant species harvested from the wild includes Chilean kelp Lessonia nigrescens (22 percent of the total wild harvest), followed by huiro palo Lessonia trabeculata (7 percent), Gracilaria seaweeds (5 percent), tangle Laminaria digitata and luga negra o crespa Sarcothalia crispata (3 percent), and kelp Macrocystis spp., Japanese kelp Laminaria japonica, North TABLE 1. Industrial applications of seaweeds: Global production and value (Hanisak 1998, Zemke-White and Ohno 1999, Chopin et al. 2001, McHugh 2003, FAO 2010, Bixler and Porse 2011, FAO 2011, Klinc et. al. 2013). SEAWEED PRODUCTS MARKET VALUE RAW MATERIAL FINAL PRODUCT (Million US$) Quantity (t) Value (US$/t) Quantity (t) Value (US$/t) Carrageenan 527 400,000 1,400 50,000 10,500 Alginate 318 460,000 950 26,500 12,000 Agar 173 125,000 1,200 9,600 18,000 Soil additives ~30 550,000 18 ~510,000 20 Fertilizer (seaweed extract) ~10 10,000 500 ~1,000 5000 Seaweed meal ~10 50,000 100 ~10,000 500 Pharmaceuticals, cosmeceuticals, nutraceuticals, bioactives, etc. ~5 3,000 Not known 600 Not known TOTAL ~1,073 1,598,000 ~607,700
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