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Towards Sustainable Seaweed Production - Optimising the Culture of Gracilaria Gracilis

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Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Water Energy Food and Sustainability (ICoWEFS 2022) (ICoWEFS 2022)

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Abstract

Gracilaria gracilis is a well-known cultivated seaweed, sought after for its high agar content. For this purpose, it is one of the most cultivated species worldwide. Depending on the biotic and abiotic conditions to which it is exposed, the species also exhibits a very interesting nutritional profile, making it an excellent candidate for use as a food or food supplement. Thus, aiming to improve the productivity and biomass quality, G. gracilis was cultivated under different light conditions and nutrient media, to evaluate the impact of these parameters on the growth rate and the chemical composition of the biomass. Thus, the nutritional profile of the biomass was evaluated. Our results indicate that environmental parameters have a significant impact both on growth and quality of the biomass, affecting the amount of protein, ash, and carbohydrate. The cultivation methods, therefore, significantly affected the quality of the biomass produced. Thus, there is scope to optimise the cultivation of G. gracilis, in order to efficiently produce high quality biomass, enhancing the effective use of resources, particularly nutrients, while producing nutritionally balanced biomass for human consumption.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), through the strategic project UIDB/04292/2020 granted to MARE, and through the individual doctoral grant UI/BD/150957/2021 attributed to Marta V. Freitas.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ESTM, Polytechnic of Leiria, Peniche, Portugal

    Francisco Ferreira & Mário Cavaco

  2. MARE, School of Tourism and Maritime Technology, Polytechnic of Leiria, Peniche, Portugal

    Marta V. Freitas & Teresa Mouga

  3. Department of Life Sciences, MARE—Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Marta V. Freitas

Authors
  1. Francisco Ferreira
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  2. Marta V. Freitas
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  3. Mário Cavaco
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  4. Teresa Mouga
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Teresa Mouga .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Technology and Management, Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, Portalegre, Portugal

    Paulo Sérgio Duque de Brito

  2. School of Technology and Management, Polytechnic of Leiria, Leiria, Portugal

    João Rafael da Costa Sanches Galvão

  3. Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, Portalegre, Portugal

    Pedro Monteiro

  4. School of Technology and Management, Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, Portalegre, Portugal

    Roberta Panizio

  5. School of Technology and Management, Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, Portalegre, Portugal

    Luís Calado

  6. School of Technology and Management, Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, Portalegre, Portugal

    Ana Carolina Assis

  7. School of Technology and Management, Polytechnic of Leiria, Leiria, Portugal

    Filipe dos Santos Neves

  8. School of Technology and Management, Polytechnic of Leiria, Leiria, Portugal

    Flávio Craveiro

  9. School of Technology and Management, Polytechnic of Leiria, Leiria, Portugal

    Henrique de Amorim Almeida

  10. School of Technology and Management, Polytechnic of Leiria, Leiria, Portugal

    Joel Oliveira Correia Vasco

  11. School of Technology and Management, Polytechnic of Leiria, Leiria, Portugal

    Ricardo de Jesus Gomes

  12. School of Technology and Management, Polytechnic of Leiria, Leiria, Portugal

    Sandra de Jesus Martins Mourato

  13. School of Health Sciences, Polytechnic of Leiria, Leiria, Portugal

    Vânia Sofia Santos Ribeiro

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Ferreira, F., Freitas, M.V., Cavaco, M., Mouga, T. (2023). Towards Sustainable Seaweed Production - Optimising the Culture of Gracilaria Gracilis. In: Duque de Brito, P.S., et al. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Water Energy Food and Sustainability (ICoWEFS 2022). ICoWEFS 2022. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26849-6_38

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