The Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) recently distributed 2.16 tons of tissue-cultured seaweed (K. alvarezii) seedlings to coastal communities in the northern portion of Iloilo province in the Philippines' Western Visayas region to support seaweed farming.
Beneficiaries in the municipalities of Concepcion, Ajuy, and San Dionisio received the seedlings grown for four months by SEAFDEC's Aquaculture Department (AQD) in Pandan in neighbouring Antique province. The plantlets used in Pandan originated from tissue cultures at SEAFDEC's seaweed laboratory in Tigbauan, Iloilo.
Tissue-cultured seaweed has been shown to be more robust and grow faster compared with cuttings repeatedly propagated from older stocks. AQD said that, with this advantage, seaweed harvests at Pandan reached about 1.05 tons on May 6, 2026, and another 1.11 tons on May 12.
Among the recipient municipalities, Concepcion received 850 kilograms of planting materials for 85 beneficiaries from five barangays [local term for village, -ed]. Ajuy received 200 kilograms of seaweed for 23 farmers from two barangays.
San Dionisio received the largest allocation of 1.11 tons, shared to 139 members from five seaweed growers’ associations.
“We hope that through improved seaweed seedlings and continued collaboration with local stakeholders, more coastal communities will benefit from sustainable seaweed farming,” said AQD Chief Dan Baliao.
