Lenga Cove is located in San Vicente Bay near Concepción city (36°45′S; 73°10′W), Chile. In Lenga there exists a natural bed of Gracilaria, which is commonly known as “pelillo” and whose commercial exploitation has been the principal sustenance of about 400 persons. Until 1983, in accordance with legislation, the “pelillo” was collected on the beach as wave-cast drift material. The harvest of algae with 40% moisture, collected in this way, varied between 0.5 t in winter to 80 t in late summer. After 1983, active harvest of “pelillo” from the bed was permitted, according to our suggestions for a program for management and conservation of the resource.
Keywords
- seaweed
- available biomass
- maximum yield
- management
- underground thalli
- regeneration