Browsing by Author "Hurtado, Anicia Q."

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    The Cultivation of Kappaphycus and Eucheuma in Tropical and Sub-Tropical Waters
    (Springer International Publishing AG, 2017) Hayashi, Leila; Reis, Renata P.; dos Santos, Alex Alves; Castelar, Beatriz; Robledo, Daniel; de Vega, Gloria Batista; Msuya, Flower E.; Eswaran, K.; Yasir, Suhaimi Md.; Ali, Majid Khan Majahar; Hurtado, Anicia Q.
    Kappaphycus and Eucheuma species have been successfully cultivated in Southeast Asia since the early 1970s. The increasing global demand for carrageenan in processed foods and thereby the need for industrial-scales of biomass to be provided to feed an extraction industry, exceeded wild stock availability and productivity and commercial demands could only be achieved through extensive cultivation of selected carrageenophytes. This unprecedented situation led to the introduction of carrageenophyte species and cultivars around the world; combined production of Eucheuma and Kappaphycus is one of the largest for seaweed biomass in the world. The activity of, and economic benefits accrued from, seaweed farming are indeed responsible for significant changes in rural, coastal communities in a number of important countries. Such activities generating new activity and income are often the only source of cash to some of the farmers. However, in spite of the enormous size and value of the industry the techniques applied to cultivation of carrageenophytes has remained almost unchanged in the commercial farms. Seedlings (or vegetatively propagated fragments of older, larger, mature thalli) are still most commonly planted along ropes held in various configurations, in most of the major production centers, e.g. mostly classified as simple stakes in the ground (off-bottom planting to floating rafts of various design). Some technological developments have been made in Brazil and India with the implementation of tubular nets for planting, which allows a degree of mechanization on the farms; both countries are developing mechanical harvesters. Further to co-production of biomass and harvesting, the drying process is still a limiting problem for production, and drying costs are high, in countries with high rainfall, this segment of the process is discussed in detail by Ali et al. Chap. 8). Diseases such as “ice-ice” and blooms of epiphytes and endophytes (see Chap. 6 by Loureiro et al.), as well as present and impending climate change effects (see Chap. 7 by Largo et al.) are also very big challenges. In general, the production of carrageenophytes in tropical and sub-tropical regions is very dependent on the weather: as in prevailing conditions during the dry and wet seasons or surface seawater temperatures (SSTs) during “cold” winters and/or “hot” summers. For the future, efforts need to be made to increase the productivity and resistance of the selected strains of carrageenophyte seedlings against environmental instabilities.
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    A review of Kappaphycus farming: prospects and constraints
    (Springer, 2010) Hayashi, Leila; Hurtado, Anicia Q.; Msuya, Flower E.; Bleicher-Llhonneur, Genevieve; Critchley, Alan T.
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    The role of women in seaweed aquaculture in the Western Indian Ocean and South-East Asia
    (Taylor & Francis, 2017-10-11) Msuya, Flower E.; Hurtado, Anicia Q.
    In most developing countries, the majority of people involved with seaweed farming are women. Their immense contribution to the industry has been widely demonstrated and evaluated in successful examples/case studies. These ‘seaweed women’ have made significant advances in the sustainability of seaweed farming for more than four decades and their dedication, patience and resilience illustrate tenacity in the face of crises. The roles of women are complex, including handson farming activities as well as small-scale processing to produce value-added products based on the seaweed biomass cultivated. We detail the role of women in seaweed aquaculture in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO, including Africa and India) and South-East Asia. In Africa, there are significantly more women than men employed, and their roles are more varied, whilst in South-East Asia, men and women are involved in almost equal numbers at the various levels of the seaweed industry. Seaweed farming in SE Asia is carried out by family-owned businesses which involve all working age members of the family, be it nuclear or extended family members, as compared with the WIO region. Five case studies of individual women are provided to show how they have been and continue to be the pillars of the seaweed farming industry. Economic gains from seaweed farming in both regions have provided positive and favourable changes in the quality of life (e.g. food, shelter, clothing, health care and social acceptance) of the family members involved. The case studies point to the commitment of women as the driving force of the seaweed industry, adding value to seaweeds, especially in the WIO. With such women spearheading the seaweed industry, the benefits will continue to be shared with whole families as well as other community members, as mothers are strong anchors of the families in many communities in developing countries.