Conservation of Natural Seaweed: Aquaculture development and Strategic Policy

Lies EmmawatiHadie,*YayanHikmayani**and WartonoHadie*
*Research and Development Center for Fisheries
**Research and Development Center for Socio Economic

Seaweed or macro-algae is one of biodiversity having high number species. With Chlorophyta(196 spp), Phaeophyta(134 spp), and Rhodophyta(452 spp) found in Indonesia, the total number reaches 782 species. It can be used for various needs, among others, as raw material in the food and beverage production, source of alginate, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The natural seaweed used in the pharmaceutical industry has a very favorable prospect as it contains active compounds that can produce effective medications. One kind of natural seaweed entering international market is Sargassum sp. It is raw material of alginate important to produce products such as pharmaceuticals, emulsifiers, stabilizers, cosmetics, food, beverages, textiles and livestock feed. In aquaculture, due to its usefulness for increasing tiger shrimp production, Sargassumsp is farmed along with the shrimp as a polyculture model.      Unfortunately, the farming of Sargassumsp has not been fully developed, whereas the pharmaceutical industry's demand for it is quite high. On the contrary, the natural seaweed use in pharmaceutical industry impacts on its population in the nature. The production of Sargassumsp at Cempi Bay, NTB is higher than at South Mountain, Yogya (Fig.1). However, in some areas such as Binuangeun Banten, the population of some species is declining as seen from a year-by-year decline in catches from the nature. Thus, it is important that the local government set a policy regulating the harvesting from the nature. The policy to be implemented is making natural seaweed harvesting arrangements (wild crop management).

The harvesting should be regulated by local government having natural seaweed resources that the sustainability of the seaweed can be maintained properly. Other action plans related to natural seaweed resource such as mapping the seasons, locations and estimated production of natural seaweed need to be conducted by the parties managing coastal resources. The mapping, to be performed through remote sensing high resolution or hyperspectral, will provide more detailed information on the potential of various natural seaweed species with high economic value. Management performed based on accurate data from the mapping will create harvesting arrangement that is according to the balanced and sustainable conservation of natural seaweed.