Seaweed restocking along the Chilean coast: History, present, and inspiring recommendations for sustainability

Abstract

Several seaweed species are commercialized worldwide both due to high demand for food and feed and as a raw material for the extraction of phycocolloids such as agar, carrageenan, and alginates that are used broadly in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. Chile is the world’s leading marine seaweed biomass producer when it comes to the exploitation of natural kelp beds. This extraction pressure has persisted for decades and has resulted in a reduction in natural stocks along the benthic ecosystems of the Chilean coast. Over the last three decades, several strategies aimed at restoring seaweed stocks have been implemented (i.e., sexual and asexual reproduction, the use of spore-type propagules or fragments of thalli, and entire thallus transplants). Success rates have varied, but the biological feasibility of such strategies has been demonstrated for several species. However, technological improvements must be achieved to move from small-scale, pilot experiments to cost-effective restocking strategies that are easy to transfer to fisher communities and another end-user, scalable to marine field conditions, and socio-ecologically sustainable. Researchers in other geographic areas have explored similar pathways for developing kelp restocking strategies and have tackled the research gaps regarding its massification. This work summarizes the research activities carried out in recent decades in the search for sustainable strategies to restore algal stocks in Chile.

Printability and Thermophysical Properties of Three-Dimensional-Printed Food Based on “Cochayuyo” Durvillaea antarctica Seaweed Flour

“…On the other hand, Chile is a high seaweed biomass producer, most of which is exported or used as raw materials for the extraction of agar, alginate, and carrageenan for the food, pharmaceutics, and cosmetic industries [ 18 , 19 , 20 ]. Seaweed has an excellent nutritional profile and vast potential to contribute to food security as a component of affordable healthy diets [ 21 ].…”

Experimental transplantation of Durvillaea incurvata in southern Chile: implication for its restocking

“…As ecosystem engineers, the deterioration of macroalgae populations also affects the local biodiversity they sustain (Mineur et al 2015, Krumhansl et al 2016. Nowadays, there are restocking and restoration methods that are poten-______________ Associate Editor: Loretto Contreras tially useful to recover and conserve the macroalgaethreatened populations (Carney et al 2005, Gianni et al 2013, Westermeier et al 2016, Oyarzo-Miranda et al 2023.…”

“…Vásquez & Tala 1995, Correa et al 2006, Westermeier et al 2016. The design and construction of restocking devices are also fundamental to allow efficient individual holdfast anchoring on the rocks (Correa et al 2006, Oyarzo-Miranda et al 2023. The restokingdevice improvement must consider the human effort to their fixation to the rock, the device economic cost, and the device efficiency to support the biomass increase over time.…”