Strengthening Seaweed Farming for Reef Resilience in the Solomon Islands
Across the lagoons and reef flats of the Western Province, seaweed farming has become an emerging livelihood pathway for many coastal families.
Over the past month, our Solomon Islands team has been visiting communities to better understand how seaweed farming is being practiced, what support farmers need, and where there are opportunities to strengthen this growing local industry.
So far, visits and mapping have taken place across five communities: Saeraghi, Rarumana, Olasana, Mbambanga, and Epanga.
Seaweed farming is already active in each of these locations. Families cultivate seaweed on simple line systems set in shallow reef areas, with many operating around 20 lines of approximately 20 metres each. After harvesting, the seaweed is dried on raised racks before being sold to buyers.
While seaweed farming is widely practised, production currently remains small-scale and highly decentralised, with most households managing their own lines independently. Farmers typically sell dried seaweed at flat prices, with limited access to quality testing, grading, or price differentiation.
Despite these limitations, interest in seaweed farming is strong.
For many households, it provides an opportunity to generate income while continuing to fish, garden and care for family responsibilities. Seaweed farming can be done close to home, making it particularly accessible for women and young people who want to participate in livelihood activities.
What communities have told us is that the opportunity already exists. What is needed now is stronger coordination and support.
Our Seaweed Farming for Reef Resilience and Livelihoods initiative aims to support communities in strengthening what is already working. The program will focus on bringing farmers together through a cooperative framework that strengthens:
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Practical quality control systems.
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Transparent production tracking.
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Shared logistics and learning between communities.
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Alignment with existing Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) and Marine Protected Area (MPA) governance.
By improving coordination and strengthening farmer networks, seaweed farming can become a more stable and reliable source of income for coastal families, particularly in small island communities.
A cooperative approach supports healthier reefs, healthier communities and healthier local economies, with less pressure placed on inshore fisheries and reef ecosystems.
This week, our Solomon Islands team is continuing fieldwork by conducting structured interviews with 25 seaweed farmers across participating communities. These conversations are helping us to better understand:
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Harvest cycles.
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Access to materials and farming inputs.
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Production and weather-related challenges.
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Local priorities for growing the industry.
This community-informed data will guide the development of the program in partnership with farmers and the Western Provincial Government in the months ahead.
Seaweed farming is already a part of the local economy in the Western Province. Our role is to work alongside communities to strengthen and coordinate the system so it becomes more stable, more resilient and more beneficial for both people and the reefs that they depend on.
Stay tuned as this program progresses…