issn 0429-9345 a guide to the fao fisheries paper 441 · 441 issn 0429-9345. the designations...

A guide to theseaweed industry

FAOFISHERIES

TECHNICALPAPER

441

ISSN 0429-9345

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

ISBN 92-5-104958-0

All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this information product for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of the copyright holders. Applications for such permission should be addressed to the Chief, Publishing Management Service, Information Division, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy or by e-mail to copyright@fao.org

© FAO 2003

The word “countries” appearing in the text refers to countries, territories and areas without distinction. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations nor of their affiliated organization(s). The mention or omission of specific companies, their products or brand names does not imply any endorsement or judgement by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

At pres ent, the total output of the world's s eaweed indus try amounts to around

US $6 billion, with more than 8 million tonnes of wet s eaweed us ed annually. S eaweeds

are widely us ed as food but are als o an important ingredient for the c os metic s

indus try. T hey als o s erve to produc e hydroc olloids (alginate, agar and c arrageenan),

whic h are us ed as thic kening and gelling agents . T his doc ument highlights the ris ing

importanc e of s eaweed farming and s hows how an es s ential As ian food has bec ome

popular in North and S outh Americ a as well as in E urope. T he report will be us eful

to thos e who wis h to know more about the s eaweed indus try, about the markets for

c ommerc ial s eaweeds and about the various s ourc es and methods of produc tion. It is

written with a minimum of tec hnic al language and is des igned to as s is t in making

dec is ions c onc erning s eaweeds and the s eaweed indus try.

9 7 8 9 2 5 1 0 4 9 5 8 7

TC/M/Y4765E/1/7.03/1700

ISBN 92-5-104958-0 ISSN 0429-9345