Updated review of the seaweed farming initiatives in the Colombian Caribbean for its sustainable development considering regional and national contexts

An updated review of the contexts of seaweed farming in the Great Caribbean and Colombia was analyzed. Fifteen countries made trials with native species getting limited results. Eleven countries introduced the non-native species Kappaphicus alvarezii to get better performance and quality products in the Caribbean and Brazil. 619 native macroalgae species are reported so far in the Colombian Caribbean (CC), and seaweed farming were at experimental trials so far. Most viable hypothesis is that K. alvarezii was possibly introduced in 1991 in Colombia for seaweed farming. Environmental considerations showed several species aggregated with seaweed farming with no significant effects in the environment; aquaculture considerations show challenges with weather conditions, epiphytism, herbivorism, among others, but still easy and inexpensive. Legal considerations are still complicated for the marine aquaculture, but social considerations showed a great potential as an alternative for vulnerable ethnic coastal communities. An analysis of K. alvarezii as an invasive species revealed that the species did not show any invasive behavior in the CC after several years of being introduced, despite several weather events that washed up cultivation trials and may allowed the species to be expanded in the whole area. No technical evidence was confirmed to declare the species as an invasive species in Colombia, despite being declared noninvasive in other Caribbean countries.