Josefa Sigavolavola 
[ Source: Ministry of Fisheries / Facebook ]
The Ministry of Fisheries, through its Central Seaweed Team, has successfully established an 80m x 100m seaweed farm at the Natila Seaweeds Farm in Tailevu.
This was established in partnership with the Natila Village as a community-based seaweed farming initiative.
The project was implemented in two phases. From December 10 to 13 last year, the team established seaweed nursery plots, followed by the planting of seaweed seedlings from January 13 to 21 earlier this month across designated plots within the seaweed farm design.
The farm includes an 80m x 20m nursery plot, where 58 lines have been planted.
In total, the farm comprises four plots, each measuring 80m x 20m. One plot has completed line construction, consisting of 360 lines, of which 200 lines have already been planted with seaweed seedlings by the Central Seaweed Team.
The village also received training in seaweed farming techniques and will plant the remaining 160 lines to meet the target of 360 lines per plot.
Under the Seaweed Farm Plan, the team from the ministry is expected to conduct monthly site visits to complete Plots 2 to 4, as well as establish drying racks and a storage shed.
The progress achieved to date reflects key deliverables, including the development of a Seaweed Farm Plan Report and Standard Operating Procedures for seaweed farmers in the country
The Fisheries ministry says the initiative marks a significant step toward commercial seaweed farming, with reduced material costs and improved production efficiency in Fiji. The team is working towards a target of 4,000 cultivation lines per farm site, advancing efforts to achieve large-scale, sustainable commercial seaweed operations in the future.
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