Alex Alves dos Santos1, Leila Hayashi2
1Aquaculture and Fisheries Development Center, Agricultural Research and Rural Extension Company of Santa Catarina (EPAGRI), Florianópolis, Brazil
2Department of Aquaculture, Federal University of Santa Catarina
Kappaphycus alvarezii was introduced on an experimental farm in Southern Brazil in 2008 to evaluate the viability of commercial cultivation in the region. During the experimental trials, two main bottlenecks for the production were identified: the low temperatures in the winter, and the drying process, since Santa Catarina has high rainfall index in some periods of the year. Despite that, the commercial and environmental viability was proven. In 2020, Santa Catarina State had permission to cultivate the species commercially after twelve years of studies and negotiation with the Brazilian Government. However, only in 2021 local producers get the license and start commercial production. Even though the previous social-economical studies focused on the carrageenan market, the central sector which showed interest and investment in biomass production was agriculture, focusing on biofertilizers. The first production cycle started in September 2021 and finished in April 2022. In this period, four licensed producers produced on their farms (total area of 3.20 ha) approximately 102.3 tons of seaweeds (wet weight). The price for the seaweed was higher than those for the carrageenan industry. Moreover, producers can process their seaweeds and directly deliver the liquid biofertilizer to the industry without depending on the drying process. Considering the 612 marine farms totalizing 1,346.90 ha that Santa Catarina State has, this new activity probably will bring new incomes to the traditional sea producers in the South of Brazil.