Steven Hermans

The kelp farms of Kodiak are now ready to expand, if buyers - and the necessary processing infrastructure to serve them - emerge on time.

The province of Tawi-Tawi in the Philippines was once ground zero for tropical seaweed cultivation, and the industry remains its economic lifeline to this day. Five decades after its inception, however, a thorough transformation is needed.

Pond farming of Gracilaria seaweeds has seen steady growth in Indonesia over the past 30 years. While demand continues to grow, both seaweed farmers and upstream processors are aware that methods need to improve, as the industry hits environmental limits.

While there are still a number of challenges to overcome, a number of innovators in the Philippines believe that cultivating Ulva has long term potential at a time when diversification of the country’s seaweed sector would be welcomed.

Sea6 Energy has the ambition to transform seaweed markets through radical improvements in cultivation techniques. The vision is big, and bringing that vision to life takes time, according to chief business officer Sowmya Balendiran.

Seadling, which is based in Malaysian Borneo, sees fermenting seaweed for pet food ingredients as the first step towards unlocking greater value from tropical macroalgae.