PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is mulling the lifting of the ban on the gathering, selling, and export of the large brown seaweed Sargassum to provide additional income to poor fisherfolk and to allow studies on its pharmaceutical benefits.
Known in many coastal villages as “lusay-lusay,” BFAR Assistant Regional Director Roberto Abrera said Wednesday afternoon that the ban on Sargassum was imposed under Fisheries Administrative Order No. 250 in 2014.
“The ban was because they serve as spawning grounds for fry species when they are attached to the seabed. BFAR is now reconsidering the sanction, and in fact, we’ve already conducted a series of hearings in areas in the country,” Abrera said.
With the national Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (FARMC), BFAR is now inclined to allow the gathering of Sargassum seaweeds that have drifted to the shorelines due to rough weather conditions.
“Other than its economic use as fertilizer, Sargassum now has been discovered to also have therapeutic potentials and health benefits,”
Abrera said, lifting of the ban is now being deliberated in the FARMC under Undersecretary Eduardo Gongona.
He said the microalga was undergoing studies and research around the world as insect repellent, fertilizer, and for having naturally high antioxidant contents, carotenoids and phenols, and also the anti-cancer compound fucoxanthin.
“This is a huge opportunity for us. Imagine, it is invasive in Long Beach in San Vicente – if they’re collected, they can be a good source of additional income,” Abrera stated.
The farming of Sargassum, should also be studied by research institutions like Western Philippines University (WPU) with BFAR to minimize gathering in the wild, he added.
Among the organizations that are urging the BFAR to lift the Sargassum ban is the Seaweeds Industry Association of the Philippines (SIAP) headed by its chairman, Maximo Ricohermoso.
He said that before the ban, an estimated 30,000 metric tons of the brown seaweed were available for harvest with an annual value of PHP450 million.
“Because of the ban, that goes to waste – a lost opportunity,” he said, adding more or less 70 percent of the said amount of metric tons was exported.
Abrera said practically, all Palawan’s coastlines had Sargassum seaweeds that were washed ashore, especially during the months of January to March. (Celeste Anna Formoso/PNA)
