Feasibility of seaweed farming in southern Costa Rica

[michael_martel7784]

Hi
My name is Mike and i am interested in exploring the feasibility of setting up a seaweed farm in the Gulfe Dulce in Southern Costa Rica. I am wondering if anyone has any experience with this in the region and also where Spores may be obtained from. Any information would be greatly appreciated
Thanks

[jwhis]

@michael_martel7784 FYI I moved your post to the site evaluation and permitting topic so you can reach more users in this area.

[julien_jeanpierre94]

@michael_martel7784 Do you know what species you wanted to cultivate? I might be able to help. I am a seamoss farmer in St.Lucia and I have experience with building Seamoss farms.
Thanks
Julien

[kendall_barbery]

@michael_martel7784 @schery_umanzor might have some useful insights. Among other publications, Schery is a contributing author to a book chapter on seaweed cultivation in Costa Rica: Radulovich, R., Umanzor, S. and Cabrera, R. (2013). Algas Tropicales Cultivo y Uso como Alimento 2013 (Tropical Seaweeds: Cultivation and Use as Food) (1st ed.). Universidad de Costa Rica.
Here is the English language version of the chapter via ScienceDirect:
Ricardo Radulovich*, Schery Umanzor, Rubén Cabrera, Rebeca Mata - tropical seaweeds for human food
According to the chapter, cultivation of species like Codium sp., Sargassum sp. (e.g. S. liebmannii) and Ulva lactuca appears feasible on the Pacific coast, but factors like fouling, herbivory, water conditions, and security need to be carefully considered and managed for a successful seaweed farming operation.
@loretta_roberson do you know of anyone cultivating seaweed on the Pacific side of Costa Rica or other Central American countries?