Aquaculture is the maintenance of various animals that live in water. Contrary to the trend of fishing, aquaculture is projected to continue to increase as an effort to meet the needs of animal protein for the community. For this reason, a sustainable aquaculture ecosystem is needed, one of which is in terms of food.
“The production in fishery cultivation or aquaculture has the opportunity to be increased,” said Dr. Alim Isnansetyo during the UGM Apps Village Webinar.
He said brown seaweed can be a good and sustainable food alternative in aquaculture. Brown seaweed has nanoparticles, bioactive substance, biodegradable polymer and drug delivery system.
Currently in Indonesia there are 555 types of seaweed and only 21 types are used as food, as a trading commodity, and have economic value. One of the most abundant seaweeds, especially in Yogyakarta, is brown seaweed.
“Brown grass has a lot of cellulose and alginate,” he said.
Extraction of this brown seaweed can produce a large amount of feed. The average extraction process can yield up to 30% of the initial amount before extraction. Before entering the extraction process, brown seaweed must be dried and chopped. The cost of extraction is also quite affordable because it is enough to use NaOH or NaHCO3 base mixed with water until it reaches PH 11.
“Alginate from brown seaweed is very easy to extract using only alkaline compounds and can be mixed into fish feed. Fish that are given alginate will have a higher immune system,” said Alim.
This functional feed can be given to various fish variants such as catfish, tilapia and shrimp, and overall brown seaweed feed contains peptides, amino acids, polysaccharides, bioactive substances, pigments, PUF, phenols, and minerals.
Seeing the potential, Alim explained that the use of applicative products from brown algae that can provide immunity to fish will reduce the use of chemical sharing which has a major impact on the sustainability of aquaculture.
Source: https://www.ugm.ac.id/id/berita/21880-potensi-rumput-laut-sebagai-pakan-fungsional-akuakultur
