The Pacific islands of Hawaii, Ponape, Kiribati, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, Solomons, and French Polynesia, have each imported live cottonii seaweed at different times. In 1986 both Fiji and the Gilbert Islands started commercial seaweed farming and today Kiribati, with a production of over 1000 MT per annum, is the world's fourth largest exporter of raw cottonii seaweed, behind the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. Fiji re-initiated farming development for the third time in 1998 and exports have been increasing during 1999.
Five years ago seaweed farming was introduced to the Northern Line Islands of Kiritimati (Christmas Is.) and Tabuaeran (Fanning Is.), with production from these two islands now reaching around 1000 MT per annum. Cottonii seaweed production now returns over AUS $ 380,000 per annum in farmer payments, and this is continuing to have a significant impact on the economies of these two isolated atolls This successful development in Kiribati has led to a renewed interest in farming, not only in Fiji, but also in a number of other Pacific Island nations.
Considering the number of different Pacific trials over twenty years, it should be asked why more Pacific Island countries have not developed a commercially viable cottonii production. There are many reasons. Firstly, several factors must come together for a successful development. Trials may well show cottonii will grow well in Pacific waters, but without the support and backing of a foreign buyer, a significant financial aid input, and a technical aid input, commercial development has never succeeded. The original development of farming in the Philippines required a consortium of effort from a foreign processor, multilateral monetary aid, foreign technical assistance, and Government support, over a ten year period. Commercial farming can now be achieved in a shorter time, but the necessary input categories have not changed. The recent development in the Northern Line Islands merely serves to illustrate the necessity for these different inputs to come together in order to achieve a successful seaweed farming industry.
Other factors which have acted against further development in the Pacific Islands are the frequency of tropical cyclones, high export freight rates relative to export rates from South East Asia and the prolific numbers of herbivorous fish found around some Pacific reefs. These constraints are considered in this report.
There are also other environmental and sociological factors which may preclude the development of cottonii farming at some Pacific Island locations. The motivation of the local populations for farming seaweed remains the most difficult factor to predict, and will be influenced by both the price paid to the farmer and the existence of other cash-earning opportunities.
D. Luxton & Associates Limited has been closely involved with the Kiribati seaweed industry since 1992, formulating the five-year EU development programme for the Gilbert Islands, and managing the four-year NZODA development programme for the Northern Line Islands. This report has made considerable use of the Line Islands experience and earlier work by the author in both the Kingdom of Tonga, Fiji and S. E. Asia.
A brief history of previous cottonii introductions to Samoa has been reported by Bell and Ropeti, 1995. Unfortunately there appear to be no detailed records of the fate of the first introduction in 1975. The literature (Doty, 1977) indicates this introduction was from the original Hawaiian stock that Doty had established from a Philippine importation. Some of the same stock went from Hawaii to Ponape and Christmas Is. The Christmas Is. stock later became the foundation for today's Kiribati industry, which in turn supplied stock to Fiji via Tonga. Consequently, the latest introduction to Samoa from Fiji on the 24th July 1999 is almost certainly the same kappaphycus alvarezii var. tambalang stock as the 1975 introduction. This strain has now been reproducing vegetatively in the Pacific Islands for 25 years. Similarly, at least three introductions to Samoa from Fiji in 1991 and 1992 also originated from the same stock.
Bell and Ropeti report that cottonii grew well at Aleipata in 1991, until a cyclone destroyed 95% of the plants in December of that year. Trials at Aleipata were restarted in July 1992 with more stock from Fiji, and a farm of 100 culture lines was established. Plants initially grew well but after 8 weeks most were lost to breakages and predation by schools of rabbitfish. Remaining stock was transferred to cages for protection against grazing, before all stock was lost during Cyclone Lin at the end of 1992.
Mr. Peter Meredith reported that he established several private farm plots of cottonii at Aleipata in 1988/89, and his photographs illustrate the production of large healthy plants from this location. Mr. Meredith's primary interest was in establishing commercial clam culture, and he reported a general lack of interest from locals in cottonii farming. This can probably be attributed to the absence of any cash buyer in Samoa at the time. Mr. Meredith's private trials were later destroyed by a cyclone. Mr. Meredith's stock presumably originated from an earlier Fisheries Division importation from Fiji.
As far as can be ascertained, there have been no Government or private cottonii trials since the end of 1992.
