issn 0429-9345 a guide to the fao fisheries paper 441 · 441 issn 0429-9345. the designations...
TRANSCRIPT
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 [email protected]
© 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