Seaweed’s potential to be harnessed: fisheries minister

The government will take all possible steps to harness the potential of seaweed and other marine resources for the development of the blue economy, said Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim.

He was addressing a workshop on the production and popularisation of seaweed products, organised by the Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI) at a hotel in Cox's Bazar on Saturday.

"Although seaweed is unconventional, it has many qualities. There is huge potential for multifaceted use of seaweed in medicine, cosmetics and herbal products and making nutritious food items," he said.

Karim said there are restaurants dedicatedly serving seafood while demand for marine fish is huge. Training needs to be provided to help harness the potential, he said.

The versatile use of seaweed as well as its taste should be given special importance and all necessary measures will be taken to create more awareness on the products, he said. "We need to grow a habit of eating seafood."

Although seaweed is unconventional, it has many qualities. There is huge potential for multifaceted use of seaweed in medicine, cosmetics and herbal products and making nutritious food items.

SM Rezaul Karim, Fisheries and Livestock Minister

The extraction of marine resources will be another huge chapter in the development of the country. "We have to utilise marine fish, seaweed and mineral resources. For this, we have to create skilled human resources," Karim said.

Muhidul Islam, project director of the BFRI, presented a keynote paper at the workshop.

File photo

With more than 700 kilometres of coastline and 25,000 square kilometres of the coastal area, Bangladesh has enormous potential for seaweed cultivation as the country's beaches, estuaries and mangroves make it an ideal habitat for the plant, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation.

The BFRI said it has already identified 23 species of commercially important seaweed through research. Six variants of seaweed are being cultivated in the country.

About 300 households are engaged in seaweed farming at Inani Beach and Reju Khal of Cox's Bazar.

They produced 390 tonnes in 2020, with potential applications in the food, cosmetic, feed and pharmaceuticals sectors.

Currently, 390 tonnes of wet seaweed can fetch Tk 2.34 crore at Tk 60 per kg.

Dried seaweed for food and feed formulation sells at Tk 300 per kg while the price goes up to as much as Tk 1,000 per kg for that meant for cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications, according to a BFRI study.

Right now, seaweed farming is one of the fastest-growing aquaculture sectors with an annual production of about 3,300 crore tonnes worth $11.8 billion globally, which is expected to double by 2024.