Experts from Aquaculture Technology Center (Cataqua), based in Port, together with the Spanish Algae Bank (BEA), the University of Cádiz and the National Association of Canned Fish Manufacturers (ANFACO) have just published the book Algae from the Spanish coasts: Potential uses and applications, as a result of the work developed in the project Innovalga.
Currently, seaweed production is concentrated in Asian countries; However, for the last 15 years there has been a growing interest in cultivating these organisms on a global scale, motivated mainly by the search for new foods and products.
One of the most important bottlenecks for the aquaculture sector and other entrepreneurs to dedicate themselves to algae production is linked to the gaps in knowledge about the regional presence of species and their exploitation potential.
“We made this publication with the aim of it becoming a scientific dissemination tool that facilitates knowledge of the main seaweeds present in the spanish coasts, the state of its cultivation, as well as its known uses and potential applications on an industrial scale,” he points out. Manuel Macias, responsible for the Innovalga project in Ctaqua. It is the first book that covers the species of algae on the Spanish coast with their potential. uses and applications.
“We hope that this catalog be an important and valuable source of data for all those interested in the commercial exploitation of algae, thereby promoting the growth of an emerging and sustainable aquaculture sector such as the cultivation and use of macroalgae and microalgae,” says Manuel Macías.
The Innovalga project team worked for two years to promote the growth of the sector dedicated to the cultivation and development of applications with microalgae and macroalgae.
Among its results, the development of a comparison of the regulations linked to the production and transformation of algae, at the level regional, national and European.
Throughout the project, the book was also published Innovate in your Kitchen: 27 Recipes with Seaweed, with healthy recipes so that future professionals in the health sector gastronomy become familiar with their use and apply them in their preparations.
Sources: Diario de Cádiz
