Darjamuni *
I. Introduction
As an archipelagic country which lies in the tropics, Indonesia has high potential in producing seaweeds. Most of the coastal water is suitable for seaweed culture e.g. Bali, Nusatenggara, Sumatra, Kepulauan Seribu, etc. This report describe seaweed culture in Kepulauan Seribu which lies north of Jakarta (Plate 1). Most of the coastal waters in Kepulauan Seribu is suitable for seaweed culture, e.g. Pari island, Laneang island, Panggang island, etc. There are many species of seaweeds which can be profitably cultivated such as Eucheuma, Gracilaria, Gelidium and Hypnea. But most of the market demand Eucheuma (Plate 2). Other species are being studied by Department of Agriculture.
In Kepulauan Seribu, seaweed culture is not the source of main income but only secondary activity to fill spare time. So the production is still low and not business oriented.
Culture of Eucheuma cottonii began in October, 1986 using seedlings from Bali.
II. Culture method
There are two culture methods in Kepulauan Seribu:
Off-bottom
Thallus on the rope which is stretched between two poles near the bottom.
Floating
As floating material, bamboo rafts are used. Basically it resembles the off-bottom system but the seaweed can move vertically depending on water fluctuation (Plate 3).
III. Area and production
Kepulauan Seribu has a high potential for producing seaweed but at the moment, only about 1.5 ha have been planted to Eucheuma cottonii. The Eucheuma cottonii production in Jakarta is still low (Plate 4 and Plate 5).
Until January 1987 the wet production was only 400 MT. In the long run seaweed culture will be projected as tradeable goods to fulfill the demand of international market. It also means increasing fish farmer income.
* Staff, Jakarta Fisheries Service, Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan 8–9, Jakarta, Indonesia
Plate 1. Eucheuma farm in Teluk Jakarta, Kepulauan Seribu.
Plate 2. Eucheuma harvest in Teluk Jakart, Kepulauan Seribu.
Plate 3. Eucheuma culture (floating method) in Teluk Jakart, Kepulauan Seribu.
Plate 4. Harvesting.
Plate 5. Processing (drying under the sun).
Plate 6. Export.
IV. Marketing
The most important problem in seaweed marketing is the low price compared with the production cost. The farming sites are too far from Jakarta (Plate 6). The other problem is the collector does not buy the Eucheuma product on a regular basis. To overcome these problems the government advised the farmers to form cooperatives. The collector/exporter must buy the Eucheuma product from the cooperative.
On April 1988 about 20 MT of dried product was exported from the Kepulauan Seribu to Hongkong.
Since seaweed is a tradeable commodity and a source of foreign currency it is reasonable that the government of Indonesia should promote further seaweed production by applying new methods and technology.
