The Jakarta Post December 27, 2008.
Bali administration will expand seaweed cultivation by constructing seaweed plantations in the deeper zones of the island's offshore areas, a senior official said recently.
Seaweed cultivation has became a primary source of income for thousands of Balinese living in the island's coastal region.
Traditionally, seaweed is cultivated in plantations that lie not far from the beach line.
"Its about time we develop seaweed plantations in offshore areas around one kilometers away from the beach line," said the head of Bali Fishery and Maritime Agency's cultivation section, I Ketut Rai.
He said Bali had a total of 9.6 square kilometers of offshore area that was suitable for seaweed cultivation. The area lies in Nusa Penida island, Nusa Lembongan island, Sawangan in Nusa Dua and Denpasar.
"All these years, seaweed cultivation has been mainly conducted at offshore areas near or next to beaches," he added.
The plantations mainly comprise of arrays of bamboo or iron stakes driven into the sand. The stakes were connected with ropes on which the farmers tied the seeds of seaweeds.
The plantation of seeds, the maintenance of the plantations and the harvests heavily depended on the tidal movements. Only when the water receded, Rai said, the farmers could plant, prune and harvest the seaweed.
Seaweed cultivation at deeper sea, Rai pointed out, had slightly different characteristics. The plantation would mainly made of an array of floating rafts, on which the ropes of seaweed seeds were fastened.
"The operations of this plantation are not determined by tidal movements. The farmers will be able to maintain the plantations even during high tide," he added.
The expansion was necessary to cope with the markets' increasing demand.
"So far, no matter how much seaweed our farmers harvested, the markets have always absorbed it," Rai said.
Japan, China and Taiwan are the major markets for Bali's seaweeds.
The head of Bali Fishery and Maritime Agency's statistics section, Ni Ketut Adiani, said Bali had an estimated maximum production capacity of more than 152 tons seaweed per year.
The actual production capacity, she admitted, was still far below the estimated one.
The current price of seaweed, she said, was relatively stable. Farmers could get Rp 23,000 for each kilogram of dried seaweed. Harvest took place once in every 40 days.
"By expanding the cultivation to deeper seas we hope to increase the production capacity, thus, boosting their revenues and mitigating the chronic problem of poverty that haunts our coastal regions," Rai said.
No comments:
Post a Comment