• Our Shared Ocean
  • Our Shared Ocean
  • Project
  • Grenada / Caribbean Islands

Growth rate estimation and description of the epiphytic assemblages associated with cultivated sea moss in Grenada, WI: Implications for site selection and crop management


  • Award: Masters Scholarship
  • Theme: Oceans & Climate
  • Duration: 12 Months
  • Code: OSO/23/MSC/001

Partnership:
Growth rate estimation and description of the epiphytic assemblages associated with cultivated sea moss in Grenada, WI: Implications for site selection and crop management

Sea moss farming into Grenada has offered alternative livelihoods for coastal communities, addressing issues of poverty and alleviating over exploitation of coral reef resources. The Caribbean has been experimenting with sea moss farming since the 1970s, partly as a result of the creation of accessible cultivation methods in several Pacific countries.

Production is labour intensive but requires minimal capital investments and only simple equipment, which allows participation of many households or vulnerable Grenadian farmers, many of whom lack financial resources.

However, there are issues including periodic loss associated to rough seas; iseasonal fouling of the crop, uncertainty of the actual species cultivated and Sargassum invading the sea moss plots. Information regarding growth rate of the cultivated species in Grenada is also non-existent.

An understanding of the optimal conditions for sea moss growth by analysing the dynamics of these epiphytic communities can help inform farmers when and where to place their cultivation plots, optimise deployment and harvesting and other cultivation methods, and achieve higher quality crops and yields.

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Grenada

Grenada

Caribbean Islands
12.1165° N, 61.6790° W