Rui Pereira1, Luis Costa1, José A. Zertuche-González2, Alan T Critchley3 and Charles Yarish4.
1Algae 4 Future, Estrada do Paço do Lumiar Campus do Lumiar, Ed. E – R/C 1649-038 Lisboa (Portugal), 2Instituto de Investigaciones Oceanológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Ensenada, Mexico, 3Verschuren Centre for Sustainability in Energy and Environment, Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada, 4Department Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Stamford, CT, USA
Seaweed aquaculture increased 74% from 2010-2020, totaling 35.1 million metric tons in 2020 (FAO, 2022). More than 99% of this amount is produced in the western Pacific and, still according to FAO, > 95% of the production is based on only five genera, Saccharina/Laminaria, Undaria, Gracilaria, Neopyropia and Eucheuma/Kappaphycus. These are mostly produced at sea (offshore or nearshore). Considering >10 000 species described, it is reasonable to assume there remain many species that, due size, morphology, robustness and other traits, are not suitable for open water aquaculture.
As new applications are being developed, based on “novel” species for aquaculture, new requirements/standards must also appear. Requirements such as strict quality control, both in terms of safety and chemical composition, can only be achieved using production techniques that allow for traceability and control of all the steps of the process. In parallel, just as is happening with the production practices of other foods or materials, the degree of scrutiny from the market is increasing, including in terms of environmental sustainability.
Land-based seaweed aquaculture is an answer to some of those “criteria” and allows for the domestication and exploitation of many new species provided their cultivation is profitable. Macroalgal aquaculture needs to evolve to the level of “precision phyconomy”. Microalgal production is so far, more advanced in terms of system control, water re-utilization, artificial media development, precise use of nutrients, irradiance, amongst others.
This presentation discusses how on land seaweed cultivation can learn from the precision phyconomic practices of microalgal aquaculture.