Global workshop seeks climate solutions for seaweed farmers

UK scientists have teamed up with researchers from Malaysia in an initiative aimed at saving seaweed stocks from the impacts of climate change.

More than 50 stakeholders attended a two-and-a-half-day workshop in Sabah, Malaysia, this week to propose a new Progressive Management Pathway for Improving Biosecurity in the Seaweed Industry (PMP/AB-Seaweed).

The workshop is part of an international GlobalSeaweed-PROTECT three-year programme (running from February 2025 to February 2028) that hopes to improve livelihoods for seaweed farming communities in Southeast Asia by building a productive seaweed industry.

Marine ecosystem

Project lead Professor Juliet Brodie, who is based at the Natural History Museum in London, said: “Seaweeds are vital for the functioning of the marine ecosystem and there are more than six million seaweed farmers who rely on seaweed for their livelihoods.

“The vast majority of farmers are in Asia, which accounts for more than 95 per cent of global seaweed farming.

“Yet, commercial seaweeds are threatened by outbreaks of pests and diseases, as a result of climate-induced increases in seawater temperatures, which is limiting an already fragile production in a very competitive global market.

Practical road map

“It is hoped that the PMP/AB-Seaweed will provide a practical road map to help the seaweed industry in Malaysia increase its resilience to climate change.”

The project also involves a core research team of Professor Phaik Eem Lim of the University of Malaya, and Professor Elizabeth Cottier-Cook of the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), as well contributions from the Department of Fisheries Sabah and the United Nations University Comparative Regional Integration Studies.

Cottier-Cook said: “Our trip to Malaysia brought the UK team together with a wide range of stakeholders from the seaweed industry in Malaysia for the first time in this project, allowing us the opportunity to build capacity and to co-create a PMP/AB-Seaweed that will help improve the resilience of an industry vital to so many in Malaysia.

“Our shared knowledge in seaweed cultivation, biosecurity and governance between Malaysia and the UK will bring the necessary experience required to really make a difference to this industry.”