Seaweed cultivation is a growth market worldwide. Seaweed has multiple uses and is a promising resource to contribute to the societal challenges of food security and climate change in the future. However, the mechanisation of seaweed cultivation is essential for further growth, especially in Europe or comparable regions with high labor costs. This development is comparable to the mechanisation of land based agriculture which started with the Industrial Revolution. The seaweed industry will make a similar transition from small scale artisanal cultivation to large scale fully mechansised farming, and we expect this to happen withing the timespan of a few decades. This is going to take place at sea, in the hostile marine environment, and it has to take place in a sustainable way. IHC adressses this formidable challenge from its strenghts and maritime engineering background. Seaweed cultivation mechanisation knowledge is being developed and and combined with our profound understanding of marine engineering. This is necessary in order to realise equipment which fullJls its harvesting functionalities and survive the unforgiving sea environment. IHC MTI, the R&D centre of Royal IHC, has developed a Jrst prototype harvesting machine and tested it to try out and understand harvesting principles and also to demonstrate the potential of mechanised harvesting. The initial prototype realises a cost reduction of 50% and harvesting time reduction of 90%, even at this early stage without impeding sustainability aspects. This presentation exhibits the results of the initial trials with the harvesting prototype. In addition we adress the next steps and technological challenges to achieve mechanised seaweed farming.
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This document provides a detailed report on the methodology, assumptions and results of the lifecycle assessments of 20 plant and animal foods commonly consumed in the United States. Due to lack of data, the analysis focused on typical, conventional food production systems rather than organic production systems or those based on best management agricultural practices that might result in lower emissions. While our LCAs focus exclusively on GHG emissions, climate impact is just one of many critical environmental and health factors to consider in evaluating protein choices.The Meat Eater’s Guide to Climate Change and Health provides a broad overview of the health and environmental concerns linked to animal production.
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In order to determine the quantity of protein in food, it is important to have standardized analytical methods. Several methods exist that are used in different food industries to quantify protein content, including the Kjeldahl, Lowry, Bradford and total amino acid content methods. The correct determination of the protein content of foods is important as, often, as is the case with milk, it determines the economic value of the food product and it can impact the economic feasibility of new industries for alternative protein production. This editorial provides an overview of different protein determination methods and describes their advantages and disadvantages
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Global demand for bio-fuels continues unabated. Rising concerns over environmental pollution and global warming have encouraged the movement to alternate fuels, the world ethanol market is projected to reach 86 billion litres this year. Bioethanol is currently produced from land-based crops such as corn and sugar cane. A continued use of these crops drives the food versus fuel debate. An alternate feed-stock which is abundant and carbohydrate-rich is necessary. The production of such a crop should be sustainable, and, reduce competition with production of food, feed, and industrial crops, and not be dependent on agricultural inputs (pesticides, fertilizer, farmable land, water). Marine biomass could meet these challenges, being an abundant and carbon neutral renewable resource with potential to reduce green house gas (GHG) emissions and the man-made impact on climate change. Here we examine the current cultivation technologies for marine biomass and the environmental and economic aspects of using brown seaweeds for bio-ethanol production.
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Spirulina (Arthrospira) is a filamentous cyanobacteriumthat is grown commercially for food and feed and as a food coloring and additive. Currently there are many companies producing Spirulina in different countries to the tune of 3000 tons a year. This paper attempts to describe the problems of mass culture of Spirulina, deriving information from two commercial facilities: Siam Algae Company (Thailand) and Earthrise Farms (U.S.A.).
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Microalgae are photosynthetic microorganisms that can be found in diverse natural environments, such as water, rocks, and soil. They present higher photosynthetic efficiency than terrestrial plants, and are responsible for a significant fraction of the world oxygen production. The high growth rate attributed to microalgae gives them irrefutable economic potential. Besides the production of high-value products (for human and animal nutrition, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals), they have recently been studied for some environmental and energy applications: (1) CO2 capture; (2) bioenergy production; and (3) nutrient removal from wastewater. However, none of these applications are economically viable, mainly due to the requirements of water, nutrients, and energy. Thus, this chapter gives an overview of all steps of the microalgal production chain, presenting a variety of research advances.
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This article deals with aspects of mass production of marine macroalgae, also known as ‘seaweeds’. This term traditionally includes only macroscopic, multicellular marine red, green, and brown algae. Seaweeds are abundant and ancient autotrophic organisms that can be found in virtually all near-shore aquatic ecosystems and some may attain a length of 50m or more. Despite the variety of life forms and the thousand of seaweed species described, seaweed aquaculture is presently based in a relatively small group of about 100 taxa. Of these, five genera (Laminaria, Undaria, Porphyra, Eucheuma/Kappaphycus, and Gracilaria) account for about 98% of world seaweed production. The basic cultivation techniques of these genera are described.
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Seed production and release of Apostichopus japonicus is a key approach to increase and maintain their natural stocks in Japan. Nevertheless, in many trials conducted mainly in Honshu and Kyushu by the end of the 1990ʼs, the amount of seed production fluctuated annually, and the survival rate of released artificial juveniles was uncertain because of the difficulty of distinguishing them from wild ones. Due to these issues, some hatcheries discontinued A. japonicus enhancement projects. However, due to increase in Chinese demand, the priceof A. japonicus dramatically increased after 2003 in Hokkaido. Facing the decline in the price of sea urchin and abalone, which are major high-value catches in the coastal areas, fishermen were very interested in A. japonicus stock enhancement by releasing artificial seeds. Accordingly, sea urchin and abalone hatcheries in Hokkaido began to produce A. japonicus seed after 2006. This paper will introduce the recent mass production techniques developed in Hokkaido.
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Undaria pinnatifida (Harv.) Sur. is one of the three main seaweed species under commercial cultivation in China. In the mid-1990s the annual production was about 20 000 tons dry. The supply of healthy sporelings is key to the success of commercial cultivation of Undaria. Previous studies demonstrated that instead of the zoospore collection method, sporelings can be cultured through the use of gametophyte clones. This paper reports the experimental results on mass culture of clones and sporeling raising in commercial scale. Light had an obvious effect on growth of gametophyte clones. Under an irradiance of 80 μmol m−2 s−1 and favorable temperature of 22–25 °C, mean daily growth rate may reach as high as 37%. Several celled gametophyte fragments were sprayed onto the palm rope frame. Gametogenesis occurred after 4–6 days. Juvenile sporeling growth experiments showed that nitrate and phosphate concentrations of 2.9 10−4 mol l−1 and 1.7 10−5 mol l−1 were sufficient to enable the sporelings to maintain a high daily growth rate. Sporelings can reach a length of 1 cm in a month. Since 1997, extension of the clone technique has been carried out in Shandong Province. Large-scale production of sporelings for commercial cultivation of 14 and 31 hectares in 1997 and 1998 had been conducted successfully.
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Global demand for bio-fuels continues unabated. Rising concerns over environmental pollution and global warming have encouraged the movement to alternate fuels, the world ethanol market is projected to reach 86 billion litres this year. Bioethanol is currently produced from land-based crops such as corn and sugar cane. A continued use of these crops drives the food versus fuel debate. An alternate feed-stock which is abundant and carbohydrate-rich is necessary. The production of such a crop should be sustainable, and, reduce competition with production of food, feed, and industrial crops, and not be dependent on agricultural inputs (pesticides, fertilizer, farmable land, water). Marine biomass could meet these challenges, being an abundant and carbon neutral renewable resource with potential to reduce green house gas (GHG) emissions and the man-made impact on climate change. Here we examine the current cultivation technologies for marine biomass and the environmental and economic aspects of using brown seaweeds for bio-ethanol production.
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Marine Agronomy Group, CAFNRM, UH-Hilo
200 W. Kawili st., HI 96720, USA
Contact: Marine.Agronomy.Group@gmail.com
Funding for this web portal is provided by the World Wildlife Fund and the University of Hawaii-Hilo.