Turning a Nuisance into a Blessing


Turning a Nuisance into a Blessing

     The sargassum seaweed that has been washing up upon our shores thus far has only served as a nuisance to society, government and marine life. However this is a fairly one-sided approach. Surely there must be a way for sargassum to be of value in our environment. Instead of looking at the seaweed as a huge inconvenience, we can utilize it in an innovative way that can create new employment for those that are directly affected by its presence and others. We can use seaweed in the agricultural industry as fertilizers, as animal feed, in grafting plants and it can act as a nursery for young marine animals.
     Many agriculturally plantations use artificial fertilizers that have to be diluted in water before applying to their plants, if these salts and supplements are used incorrectly it can cause severe damage to crops. This is a costly and risky way to treat their precious crops. A cost-effective and useful application of sargassum seaweed is in the production of nature fertilizers which can subsequently be more beneficial to plants. Sargassum can be harvested from the beaches and placed into a controlled environment where the seaweed would be wash and left to decompose with the appropriate bacteria to break it down, prevents the production of toxins and stifle the odour.
Using Sargassum as a Fertilizer; Photo: David Godman
      According to Dennis J. McHugh[1], (of School of Chemistry, University College, University of New South Wales and Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra, Australia) when sargassum seaweed is freshly harvested it can be converted into feed for animals. This discovery has been dated back to the earliest days when Europeans reared animals along the coastline. They practiced drying the seaweed and mashing into a fine consistency. Similarly, in the modern age, the wet seaweed is milled into a smooth paste and allowed to dry until a fine powder is created. This is called ‘seaweed meal’. It has even been proven to increase the yields obtained from certain animals such as ewes.
      Grafting plants is an extremely effective way to produce crops of a superior quality. This can be the key to reviving the agricultural sector in Trinidad and Tobago. However, the cost of importing the appropriate moss for this process is quite hefty. A suitable alternative to this problem is the use of sargassum as a sustainable low cost medium. In fact, according to Wendy Priesnitz[2], “there are many alternatives peat moss” such as seaweed. “In fact, the use of peat in horticulture is almost completely unnecessary”.

   
Leather-back turtles catching and proceeding to
the ocean; Photo: Nirvana Rajaram
Many marine animals use sargassum seaweed as a nursery. The seaweed provides them with food, shelter and a suitable environment for growth, in this sense it can be compared to the role of mangroves in nurturing young aquatic animals. This also allows the population of many species that many be overfished to be protected from predators including humans. Thus allowing the revival of targeted species.  

    Although many may view the sargassum upon our shores as an annoyance, we can make a difference and change that mindset. Sargassum can be useful to use in many other ways than the few mentioned in this blog. We can even harness it for use in pharmaceuticals, however, there is not much of a market for it in the Caribbean. Fertilizers, animal feed, grafting plants and the provision of nurseries for young marine animals are the most applicable uses of sargassum in the Caribbean region.




Sources:
[1]A Guide to the Seaweed Industry: FOA Fisheries Technical Paper 441, by Dennis J. McHugh (2003) Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/y4765e/y4765e0c.htm
[2]Ask Natural Life: Does Peat Moss Have a Place In the Ecological Garden? by Wendy Priesnitz. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.life.ca/naturallife/0712/asknlpeat.html


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