Anna Thomasdotter - Cultivation potential

The Algarve seaweed sector

Most of the current large-scale cultivation of seaweeds in Europe can be found in northern countries such as Ireland and Norway. While there is plenty of information about suitable species and cultivation methods in these environments, it is mostly applicable to cold-water areas. In the Algarve, there is potential to cultivate other species and to use other methods. Many local species have potential high value, e.g. in the pharmaceutical industry, but the lack of knowledge regarding their cultivation limits the development rate of the Portuguese seaweed sector.

Testing cultivation potential

For part of my professional practice, we studied the cultivation potential of two species of intertidal red algae; Sphaerococcus coronopifolius and Plocamium cartilagenum. They both contain valuable chemical substances and are readily available in intertidal areas. We collected mature individuals (tetrasporophytes and carposporophytes - red algae have a very complicated life history) from the wild and released their spores in lab. Then, we studied the effect of using different settling and cultivation methods; spraying a concentrated spore solution onto spools, allowing spores to settle on spools themselves, or cultivating them on glass slides.

Baby seaweeds!

Results

Both species successfully released spores and all three methods worked well. Sphaerococcus is a perennial species and grows slower, but developing Plocamium was already visible at the time I finished. Later data analysis will provide scientific support for continued studies on these - and hopefully other - species and their cultivation potential.

Save the Spores
One of the most difficult parts of establishing a seaweed culture is to avoid contamination. Here, you have to help your spores so that their beakers are not taken over by other species!