Thousand Islands promotes seaweed cultivation for economic opportunities
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Sub-District Office for Food Security, Maritime Affairs, and Agriculture (KPKP) of the Thousand Islands Regency is encouraging residents to develop seaweed cultivation as a business opportunity to improve the community’s economy.
“The potential for seaweed cultivation in the Thousand Islands is still very large,” said the Head of the Sub-District Office for KPKP of the Thousand Islands, Nurliati, in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Her office is continuously promoting an increase in the number of active farmers and strengthening marketing efforts to improve selling prices.
She stated that seaweed cultivation demonstrates productivity despite facing challenges with unstable selling prices.
According to her, a group under the Sub-District Office for KPKP, namely the Cottoni Jaya Seaweed Cultivation Group in Pari Island Village, South Thousand Islands, succeeded in recording quite significant harvest results throughout early 2026.
She mentioned that the group has 10 members, and currently only four are actively planting.
“From January to March, the dried seaweed harvest reached around four tonnes. Meanwhile, from March until now, it has been recorded at around two tonnes,” she said.
According to her, the types of seaweed most suitable for development in the Pari Island area are cottonii and spinosum.
Meanwhile, the type sargassum is generally available naturally in the surrounding waters.
The Chairman of the Cottoni Jaya Group, Furkon, stated that the current seaweed harvest is mostly marketed to the Tangerang area.
He mentioned that the latest selling price for salted dried seaweed is around Rp12,000 per kilogram and for unsalted dried seaweed Rp40,000 per kg.
“This is certainly a challenge for us going forward,” he expressed.
He hopes for ongoing support from the government, both in terms of guidance and market access, so that seaweed cultivation can develop further and improve the welfare of group members.
“With the abundant natural resource potential, seaweed cultivation in the Thousand Islands is expected to become one of the leading sectors in supporting the economic resilience of coastal communities,” he said.