Sustainable Seaweed Harvest Management

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Sustainable Seaweed Harvest Management

• Erick Ask
• FMC BioPolymer

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About FMC

• Diversified Chemical Company.
• Traded on NYSE, ticker symbol FMC
• Ag Chem, Industrial, Specialty Chemicals.
• 1 in carrageenan and alginate.
• Based in Philadelphia

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Red seaweed resource Brown seaweed resource
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Commercial Algae and Uses

• Hydrocolloids
• Fertilizer/Plant Food
• Human Food
• Nutraceuticals
• Spa/Beauty
• Medicinal uses
• BioFuel?

M. Indergaard (1983). The aquatic resource. I.
The wild marine plants a global bioresource. In
Cote, W. A. Biomass utilization. Vol. Plenum
Publishing Corporation, 137-168 From
www.seaweed.ie
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Commercial Algae and Uses

• Seaweed Industry in the Caribbean

• Seaweed Industry in the Caribbean

• CANARI
• Irish Moss drink

• Potential markets?
• Spa/beauty product for tourisms industry (cruise
  ships).
• Seaweed (Gracilaria or Eucheuma isiforme) for
  salad in Asian fusion restaurants in U.S.
• Live Rock

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Define Sustainable Harvest

• Reproduction and biomass assure future supply
• Ecosystem Beds continue to fulfill their role
  of habitat, food, competition even with harvest.
• Economic cost and quality
• Employment how many jobs? how much income?

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Case Study Norwegian Laminaria hyperborea

• Started in 1960s
• Company initiated plan.
• Based on understanding biology, ecology,
  substrate and ecosystem
• Pronova (now FMC BioPolymer) is the only
  harvester.
• 5 year cycle so 5 zones.

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Vormedal
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
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Case Study Norwegian Laminaria hyperborea

• Government approved management plan in 2002.
• Must stay engaged with politicians and
  environment/fisheries agencies.

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Case Study Chilean Sarcothalia crispata

• When started, in 1970s, based on collecting
  beach material.
• Mature plants, completed life cycle, harvested by
  wave action.
• Carrageenan yield and gel strength/viscosity were
  very attractive.

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Case Study Chilean Sarcothalia crispata

• Increased demand led to diver harvesting in
  1990s and more buyers.
• Removing younger plants and substrate.
• Lower carrageenan yield and extract quality.
• Lower populations?
• Poor post harvest handling.
• Chile trying community based management plan.

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Case StudyAustralian Durvillaea potatorum

• Kelp Industries Ltd. is only buyer.
• Harvested as storm toss on beach.
• Sustainable since 1976.

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Summary of Case Studies

• One buyer/harvester with active harvesting
  (Norway).
• Many buyers/harvesters with active harvesting
  (Chile).
• One buyer/harvester with passive harvesting
  (Australia).

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Lessons from Fisheries Management

• One buyer/harvester and passive harvesting are
  easily sustainable.
• Numerous buyers/harvesters with active harvesting
  needs good manageemnt and enforcement. How?

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Lessons from Fisheries Management

• Concessions?
• Education?
• Buyer based management (diver protocol, fishing
  season)?
• Co-Management?
• Hatchery seeded beds and leasing production areas.

• Quota?
• Community based management?
• Permits?
• Shares?
• Purchase right to harvest?

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Conclusion

• Ownership responsibility
• No shortcuts
• Corruption attitude leads to shortcuts which
  ultimately destroy populations and ecosystems.
• Approach can depend on level of quality
  governance, cultural attitudes, financial
  resources
• With limited Government resources, probably best
  to be self policed within biological constraints.

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Conclusions

• Learn from other natural resource management
  plans not just seaweed.
• Each situation is unique due to biology, culture
  of residents, government resources
• Need communication and work in progress
  attitude. No one will get all they want and not
  every initiative will work. But nothing
  ventured, nothing gained.

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