Potential for Eucheuma "cottonii" seaweed farming in the Kingdom of Tonga
The detailed results from earlier attempts to develop a cottonii farming industry in the Kingdom of Tonga strongly suggest that there is no potential for this activity in the northern island groups of Vava'u and Ha'apai. In Vava'u further trials by Fisheries Division using the hanging long-line method of farming are recommended. This method is untried in Tonga, and may solve the problem of the seasonal destruction of farm stocks by juvenile rabbit fish, which previously prohibited any signific ant commercial farming. Trial results should also be used to determine the economics of long-line farming in Vava'u. The west coasts of Ha'apai islands are generally considered too wave-exposed to justify any new long-line farming trials. Further trials with the off-bottom constant-depth method are possible in the Lifuka Group, but rabbit fish grazing is predicted to be a significant problem. A Fisheries Division farming trial using the off-bottom method is recommended for Niuatoputapu Islan d in the far north. The impact of herbivorous fish is unknown on this island, and it may be considerably less than that in Vava'u and Ha'apai. The long-term survival and growth of cottonii in the Tongatapu lagoon indicates that there may be potential for a small export industry based on production from the coastal villages in the Nukuleka to Navutoka region, at the entrance to the lagoon. Commercially viable farming on Tongatapu can only properly be assessed by starting some family-owned and o perated farms, and monitoring yields and financial returns for effort. The motivation of people to engage in farming is difficult to predict. However, a conservative farmer price of T$ 0.38 per kg. is recommended, based on estimated trading costs and current world market export prices.
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| Format: | Project biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1999
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| Online Access: | https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/ac879e http://www.fao.org/3/ac879e/ac879e00.htm |
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