WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • DECEMBER 2025 15 (CONTINUED ON PAGE 16) Rural Development Program) projects, the national development programs in Saudi Arabia, which aims to establish food security and sustainability strategies for the country’s environment and agriculture sectors. Additionally, the coastal area of Saudi Arabia provides suitable conditions for seaweed aquaculture, and no other country in the region has had a more developed seaweed sector during that period, which aligns with Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia’s national sustainable development strategy. Therefore, the benefits of seaweed farming in Saudi Arabia would be multifaceted: 1. Economic diversification: Seaweed can create new jobs, stimulate the local economy, and open new markets for Seaweed-based products, including cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and biofuels, providing a diverse range of applications and potential revenue streams (Figures 1 and 2). Especially, it can increase employment opportunities and income for female and youth fishermen in coastal rural communities (Alshaikhi et al. 2023). 2. Food security and nutrition: Seaweed is a nutritious food source rich in vitamins, minerals, and protein. It can help enhance food security. Also, it is easy to process and does not require expensive equipment (Figures 1 and 2). Despite suitable natural environments, abundant wild populations ideal for farming, and increasing market demand for seaweed, Saudi Arabia’s seaweed aquaculture industry is still in the early stages. Saudi Arabia has a coastline of 7,572 km, with the Red Sea to the west and the Arabian Gulf to the east: approximately 2,400 km of undeveloped coastline and a pollution-free coastal environment. Moreover, the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf hold a wide array of several large algae groups: red algae Rhodophyta (more than 6000 species), brown algae Phaeophyceae (more than 2000 species), and green algae Chlorophyta (more than 1200 species), which have a high potential for seaweed aquaculture development and commercialization in the export market (Bayomy and Alamri 2024). However, compared to fish and shrimp farming, which began in the 1980s (Young and Shaikhi 2022, Young et al. 2025), Saudi Arabia has made significant progress in seaweed farming and microalgae cultivation in recent years, although it has not yet reached a commercial scale. Since 2019, the Ministry of Environment, Water & Agriculture (MEWA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have promoted seaweed aquaculture development under the REEF (Sustainable Agricultural Seaweed Aquaculture in Saudi Arabia: Community Partnerships and New Opportunities for Agar Production Osamah Ahmad, Ibrahim Almohsen, Raul Rincones, Pedro Guemes, Benjamin C. Young, Saif Algethami and Ali Al Shaikhi FIGURE 1. Seaweed keeps in tubular nets fixed in floating raft structures. Source: Osamah Ahmad. FIGURE 2. Young Saudis including women actively involved in production tasks.Source: Osamah Ahmad.
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