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The rediscovered potential of seaweed dietary additives









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    Document
    The Farming of Seaweeds 2012
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    Seaweeds and microalgae: an overview for unlocking their potential in global aquaculture development 2021
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    Algae, including seaweeds and microalgae, contribute nearly 30 percent of world aquaculture production (measured in wet weight), primarily from seaweeds. Seaweeds and cmicroalgae generate socio-economic benefits to tens of thousands of households, primarily in coastal communities, including numerous women empowered by seaweed cultivation. Various human health contributions, environmental benefits and ecosystem services of seaweeds and microalgae have drawn increasing attention to untapped potential of seaweed and microalgae cultivation. Highly imbalanced production and consumption across geographic regions implies a great potential in the development of seaweed and microalgae cultivation. Yet joint efforts of governments, the industry, the scientific community, international organizations, civil societies, and other stakeholders or experts are needed to realize the potential. This document examines the status and trends of global algae production with a focus on algae cultivation, recognizes the algae sector’s existing and potential contributions and benefits, highlights a variety of constraints and challenges over the sector’s sustainable development, and discusses lessons learned and way forward to unlock full potential in algae cultivation and FAO’s roles in the process. From a balanced perspective that recognizes not only the potential of algae but also constraints and challenges upon the realization of the potential, information and knowledge provided by this document can facilitate evidence-based policymaking and sector management in algae development at the global, regional and national levels.
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    Book (stand-alone)
    Genetic resources for farmed seaweeds
    Thematic background study
    2022
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    The increasing global population needs to source food from the ocean, which is a much greater area than the land. The ocean is rich with diversified flora and fauna, and both are sources of proteins, vitamins, minerals, phytohormones, and bioactive compounds. Thousands of species of macroalgae (seaweed) dominate the vegetation of the seafloor from the intertidal to the subtidal zone. The domestication of several economically important seaweed such as Saccharina, Undaria and Pyropia in China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, and Kappaphycus and Eucheuma in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania led to the intensive commercial cultivation of these seaweeds. Except for the United Republic of Tanzania, the commercial farming of seaweed, both temperate and tropical species, is centred in Asia. Despite the presence of several economically important seaweeds outside Asia, commercial farming is practised only in a few of non-Asian countries. These include Chile for Gracilaria and Macrocystis (Buschmann et al., 2001); France for Palmaria palmata, Porphyra umbilicalis and Undaria pinnatifida (Netalgae); and Canada for Saccharina latissima in integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) (Chopin et al., 2013) and Chondrus crispus. Trial cultivation of Saccharina spp. and P. palmata is now taking place in Western Europe. Seaweeds are farmed mainly for food such as sea vegetables and food ingredients (Bixler and Porse, 2011), as well as feed (Wilke et al., 2015; Norambuena et al., 2015). However, there is increasing interest in their use for biorefinery products that require a vast amount of biomass which must be farmed.

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