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Gracilaria culture in China

Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia

Year of publication 1989

Pages p. 18

Author Chen Jia Xin ;Fisheries and Aquaculture Management Division

Product type Project

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) A number of agarophytes, including Gracilaria, Gelidium and others, have been used in China as marine vegetables or traditional medicinal herbs for over 1000 years. However, these seaweeds have became an industrially important raw material for processing agar only some decades ago. Agarophytes in China are mainly represented in three genera of Rhodophyta, Gracilaria, Porphyra and Gelidium. Among >30 species of agarophytes Gracilaria verrucosa, G. tenuistipitata, Gelidium amansii, Porphyra hait anensis are the major ones. (Table I, Plates 1 and 2). In addition, other red seaweeds, such as Pterocladia sp. Gelidiella sp. and Ceraminum sp. are often collected and mixed with the main agarophytes mentioned above and used for producing agar.

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    Gracilaria is a group of warm water seaweeds. There are more than one hundred species in the world, some of which have very important economic value. Gracilaria is used as food and in the preparation of food products. It is also an important raw material in agar-agar production. At present, the world's annual output of Gracilaria is about 30,000 tons, dry weight, most of which comes from natural production. For example, the natural production in Chile, Argentina, and Brazil accounts for one thir d of this total output. With the increasing demand for Gracilaria, greater attention has been focused on the development of its artificial culture by many countries, especially those in Southeast Asia. China is the earliest country that artificially cultured Gracilaria. Today, the culture area in South China is about 2,000 ha producing 3,000 tons dried material annually. Taiwan produces 1,000 tons dried Gracilaria yearly from 400 hectares under cultivation. Nowadays, Gracilaria is cultured mai nly using the following methods: bottom culture, raft culture, stake-rope culture and pond culture. Pond culture can be divided into two systems, monoculture and polyculture with shrimp and other species. The varieties of culture methods can be adapted for different areas. In view of the importance of Gracilaria as a seafarming commodity, the National Coordinators of the Regional Seafarming Project recommended the dissemination of its culture and processing technology, through a regional train ing and demonstration activity, as a means to further increase the opportunities to develop the seafarming industry of the region. This manual has been prepared for the training course on Gracilaria culture under the Regional Seafarming Development and Demonstration Project (RAS/90/002) to be held at Zhanjiang Fisheries College, Zhanjiang, China in August, 1990.
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    The paper is on experimental farming trials carried out in Sorsogon Bay and the eastern coastal areas of Sorsogon, the Philippines, using Gracilaria species found in the area. Four major Gracilaria species - G. firma (=G. fisheri), G. fastigiata, G. cylindrica (=G. changii) and G. tenuistipitata - were recognised and used in the trials. Fixed bottom monoline (10 × 10 meter plot), floating raft monoline (5 × 5 meter) and pond (in brackish water fish pond) farming trials at 18 localities in the ar ea were conducted. Three environmental conditions were identified : high salinity/ clear water/ firm substrate; high salinity/ semi-clear water/ sandy-mud substrate; and low salinity/ semi-clear water/ muddy substrate. Under optimum environmental condition during early part of year, an average daily percentage growth rate for G. fastigiata, G. firma, G. cylindrica and G. tenuistipitata was observed to be 9.0%, 8.7%, 9.1% and 11.2% respectively from monoline farming trials. For G. fastigiata and G. firma, an average weight attained after 54 days of growing period with initial average individual seed plant of 35.3 grams and 51.0 grams were recorded as 505.2 grams and 1,005.8 grams respectively from fixed bottom monoline farming trials.
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