Permission to cultivate seaweed in the Maldives has been granted to a private company.
According to the Fisheries Ministry, the permission for seaweed cultivation was given to Floating Acres Private Limited. State Minister for Fisheries Mohamed Muttalib stated that Floating Acres Private Limited has been authorised to conduct a pilot project for seaweed cultivation, and a decision has been made to issue a commercial seaweed licence to the company based on the results after six months.
Floating Acres Private Limited commenced seaweed cultivation on the 15th of this month in B. Fehendhoo. After importing 100 kilograms of seaweed from Sri Lanka and quarantining it for 7 days in K. Maniyafushi, it was transported to Fehendhoo on the 15th of this month, where the practical work of seaweed cultivation has now begun. While an additional 900 kilograms of seaweed is scheduled to be brought in for this work, preparations are currently underway to bring 100 kilograms of seaweed to the Maldives next week.
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Sharing the details of this project with "Keyolha", the Managing Director of Floating Acres Private Limited, Ali Rasheed, said that the interest in cultivating seaweed began three years ago, during the Covid period. This was because he was involved in the tourism business, and the Maldives' tourism came to a halt due to Covid. Rasheed said he decided to undertake this work with the aim of starting a business that would not come to a halt under any circumstances and would continuously yield good profits.
"I was someone running a guesthouse in B. Fehendhoo during the Covid period. Suddenly, the business stopped. So, I looked into starting a sustainable industry in the Maldives. That is how I decided to start this work," Rasheed said.
Rasheed said that he did a lot of work with the previous government to obtain permission to start the seaweed business, but even when the government's term ended, he was unable to get the permission. However, with the arrival of this government, discussions were held with the Fisheries Ministry and the Fisheries Minister, and arrangements were made to start the work, which he is very happy about, Rasheed said.
"We have reached this point with the great assistance of the Fisheries Ministry and the Marine Research Centre. Therefore, I thank them. I especially want to thank State Minister Muttalib. I received a lot of help from Muttalib. This was achieved today with the great cooperation of everyone. This is a business that can be developed and expanded as a specific industry in the Maldives, and good profits will be gained from this business," Rasheed said.
Rasheed said that the work he started is very successful, and the export of seaweed can begin within the next six months.
"We have now started with 100 seaweeds; this is something that grows very fast. The Maldives has a very favourable environment for growing seaweed. It will grow very rapidly. And the cultivated seaweed will last for two years without spoiling. That is a huge advantage. If the work goes as it is now, a 20-foot container can be exported within the next six months. That is 20 tonnes (20,000 kilograms). Looking at current prices, that is approximately 35,000 dollars," Rasheed said.
The type of seaweed being cultivated in the Maldives is Kappaphycus alvarezii. This seaweed is used to produce "carrageenan", a thickening agent. Looking at the global market, this substance is widely used in the production of beauty industry products, chocolate, and some beverages. This is a highly sought-after substance that is bought at high prices by various such industries worldwide. Therefore, the seaweed being cultivated in the Maldives is one that has a market and can be sold at a high price in the global market.
Rasheed also believes that seaweed cultivation is an industry with a future that can be greatly expanded in the Maldives. His vision is also to expand this industry throughout the entire Maldives. In this regard, Rasheed said that he is interested in starting this work in all regions of the Maldives after observing how the work progresses in Goidhoo.
From 1997 to date, seaweed breeding or cultivation projects have been carried out in three regions of the Maldives. However, due to various reasons, those projects have been halted.
