Email Contact: tkosiom@kephis.org Title: Post-Monitoring of seaweed, Kappaphycus alvarezii, in Coast region of Kenya 1Isaac Macharia, 1Esther Kimani, 1Josiah Syanda, 1Thomas Kosiom and 1Fredrick Koome Presenter: Thomas Kosiom Institution: KEPHIS Email Contact: tkosiom@kephis.org

Outline Introduction Methodology Results Conclusion Recommendations

Introduction Kappaphycus alvarezii, commonly known as cottonii, is a red tropical seaweed native to Philippines It is highly demanded for its k-carrageenan which is processed into gels used as thickeners, stabilisers, emulsifiers and food

Introduction cont. Commercial farming of K. alvarezii started in Philippines in 1960s Since then, K. alvarezii has been introduced worldwide, mainly within the tropics Significant production for export markets has only been achieved in Tanzania, Vietnam, Madagascar and Malaysia

Introduction cont. K. alvarezii has been reported to be invasive Invasiveness of K. alvarezii is associated with its ability to grow fast, it has high nutrient uptake and it is structurally complex in nature Years after commercial establishment, it has been reported by some countries smothering the corals. These include: Philippines 30 years (First case of invaiveness) Brazil 13 years (first report of invasive potential) India 5 years (Impact on corals and other marine life) Invasiveness has also been reported in Hawaii and Panama

Introduction cont. Corals being destroyed by cottonii seaweed in Gulf of Mannar, India in 2010

Introduction cont. Kappaphycus alvarezii, was introduced in Kenya in 2009 under vigorous dossier review by experts and strict quarantine conditions. K. alvarezii underwent six year monitoring period It was released for commercialization in 2015 after monitoring results were evaluated and accepted Post-release monitoring was then carried out

Objectives Kenya has a rich diversity of marine ecosystems including: coral reefs and seagrass beds that support a host of marine and coastal species. The ecosystems constitute an important life-support system for local communities. Assess growth behaviour of the seaweed Determine the invasive capabilities of the seaweed Find out the impact of cottonii seaweed to fishing community since it was commercialized in 2015 Detect any new trend on marine ecosystem

Methodology Post-release monitoring was carried out at the four sites, namely: Kibuyuni, Mkwiro, Funzi and Gazi Surveillance of the offshore for seaweed fragments Surveillance of the areas outside production sites 40 fishermen were interviewed on the impact of seaweed farming on fish abundance 30 cottonii seaweed farmers were interviewed

Seaweed Farming in Kenya

Results Following release for commercialization in 2015, 86 seaweed farmers planted cottonii A total of 45kg dried cottonii seaweed was harvested Seaweed farmers at Kibuyuni Seaweed farms

Results In 2016, over 99% of seaweed farmers abandoned cottonii seaweed due to high rate of ice ice disease, high marine herbivory and market-related price fluctuations. Only one farmer maintaining cottonii nursery in 2017 and 2018

Results K. alvarezii was not detected beyond all the production sites K. alvarezii was not found on the shore near production sites Only fragments of spinosum seaweed were found

Results 90% of fishermen experienced slight decline of fish catch since seaweed commercialized (spinosum) There were no fragments of Kappaphycus alvarezii attached with dead, live corals and coral rubbles Cottonii on nursery rafts Inspection of cottonii

Browsing by herbivores Green sea algae Browsing by herbivores Ice ice disease Heavy sedimentation

Results Three years of post-release monitoring results showed that K. alvarezii has not posed any threat to marine ecosystem

Recommendations Since invasiveness can result with the change of environmental conditions or seaweed adaptation, further monitoring is required to fully confirm cottonii under Kenyan coast condition. Early detection of invasiveness and emergence response measures are required in case invasiveness is detected. There is also need to build capacity on seaweed monitoring due to the nature of the marine environment, and different seaweed species in the ecosystem.

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