Caulerpa Value Chain Review 2011: Fiji & Samoa Theo Simos (University of Adelaide, Australia) 1 Table of Contents WHY CAULERPA? 3 BACKGROUND 3 PROCESS FLOW & INDUSTRY STRUCTURE 4 CONSUMER MARKETS 5 PRELIMINARY VALUE CHAIN RESEARCH 5 OPPORTUNITIES IN RESEARCH FOR DEVELOPMENT 7 REFERENCES 8 APPENDIX 9 CAULERPA CHAIN REVIEW 2 Why Caulerpa? Caulerpa is a popular and widely used sea vegetable in Pacific Island Communities where it is harvested, and consumed as an accompaniment to fresh food. In Fiji and Samoa Caulerpa (sea grapes and commonly referred to as “Nama” in Fiji and “Limu” in Samoa) is important to many small coastal communities as an income earning activity. The consumption of sea grapes is popular in Japan and in some Japanese restaurants in Asia and the export of Caulerpa may have potential for development. Caulerpa in the current form as offered for sale is very perishable and new techniques (enhancing shelf life) improving packaging may enable the product to be distributed to more consumers to increase consumption. Understanding the scale of harvesting and distribution of Caulerpa and analysis of chains to market can determine whether opportunities for further research can be developed to improve this resource and to better economic returns. Background Worldwide, there are many seaweed species of the genus Caulerpa, but Caulerpa lentillifera and C. racemosa are the two most popular edible species. Present in Fiji and Samoa, Caulerpa racemosa (sea grapes) is commonly found near reefs on sandy and sea grass bottoms in shallow protected waters that are accessible during low tides. Popular in Japan, pond cultivation of C. lentillifera has been very successful on Mactan Island, Cebu, in the central Philippines, with markets in Cebu and Manila and some exports to Japan (FAO, 2003). Mariculture of seaweed has been of interest in Australia and the Pacific and researchers at James Cook University are undertaking trials to determine whether Caulerpa racemosa can be cultivated in Samoa and will report findings separately. Evaluation of Caulerpa is one of the main components of a project ACIAR/PARDI Project 2010/002. “Value-adding and supply chain development for fisheries and aquaculture products in Fiji, and Samoa” The project team led by Professor Robin South made up of University of South Pacific (USP) researchers has during the course of this project undertaken considerable investigations and scoping CAULERPA CHAIN REVIEW 3 studies. Further Dr Jimima Lako and her team of student researchers at USP have conducted various product development consumer trials around extending the life of Caulerpa which are currently underway. During 2011, researchers Ms Sheree Morris and Shirleen Bala from the Institute of Marine Resources (IMR) at USP and Theo Simos of Adelaide University conducted a field visit of a prominent group of harvesters located on Naviti Island, Yasawas and municipal markets in Fiji. A similar exercise was repeated in Samoa with the kind assistance of Ms Malwine Lober and Ms Joyce Samuelu Ah Leong from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. As a result further research surveys were commissioned to identify other harvest and distribution sites around Fiji and these were integrated with this report. Process Flow and Industry Structure The following process is followed by harvesters (generally women in remote locations) and vendors. 1. Harvest (access by boat and walking waist deep, “gleaning” to collect individual grape clusters (in some cases collectors remove plant runners with grapes attached) 2. Return to shore and clean to remove stems or damaged/ bleached berries. 3. Pack in 15-35 kg bags (perforated) and store in seawater (temporarily overnight to whilst awaiting transport). 4. Transport in ambient conditions by boat/motor vehicle to local markets 5. Deliver to wholesale buyer (quality check and weigh before payment) or transfer direct to market for sale by harvester/vendor direct to consumers at the local municipal market where fresh seafood, fruits and vegetables are generally sold. 6. Vendor prepares portions (heaps) of sea grapes by either wrapping them in “Via” leaf packs or open on plastic plates. 7. Consumers purchase packs or plates sometimes accompanied by fermented coconut and chili peppers and take home for consumption. 8. Some vendors distribute small quantities direct to hotel restaurants. For additional supporting information refer to: Morris, C. & Bala, S. (2012). Supply chain for sea grapes (Caulerpa racemosa) in Fiji. USP Institute of Marine Resources Technical Report 05/2012. 15 pp. ISBN 978-982-9143-11-2. CAULERPA CHAIN REVIEW 4 Consumer Markets The distribution of Caulerpa is largely limited to roadside stalls and main municipal markets where fresh seafood and fruit and vegetable purchasing is undertaken by local consumers. The bulk of the purchasing is carried out on Fridays and Saturdays in preparation for the Sunday family meal. Generally consumed as a salad to accompany a main meal, sea grapes can be mixed with canned tuna or mixed with coconut milk and fresh chili pepper to balance the saltiness of the sea grapes. In some cases restaurants offer Caulerpa as a garnish to salads and during traditional “lovo“ feasts for tourists to enjoy. Distribution is therefore limited to local markets and there are no sales in modern supermarkets. Irregular supply due to weather and a limited shelf life of 4-5 days appears to be a major constraint. The availability of the natural resource and safe access for gleaning by harvesters may also be a limiting factor to supply particularly in Samoa where fishery department data have shown a decrease in harvest volumes but an increase in price over the last 5 years. The development of consumer markets beyond what is currently in place will be limited and it is unlikely that there will be any local investment to develop this niche market. Preliminary Value Chain outcomes The harvesting of Caulerpa is limited to few locations where the resource grows readily and is easily and safely accessible to harvesters in coastal communities. Harvesting is part of a traditional activity (mostly women and children) which for most includes in-shore gleaning for shells, sea cucumber and fishing for the daily family meal. One particular group of “entrepreneurial” women in the remote village of Gunu located in the Yasawa Island group have been able to exploit the natural resource around their village and have developed a significant income stream from sales to mainland Fiji. Over 60% of the annual earnings of the village of some 130 inhabitants come from exploiting Caulerpa with the balance coming from conducting tours for tourists who regularly visit on the Captain Cook cruise ship. The income is critical to the economy of the village as apart from fishing activities carried out by the men there are no other opportunities for income generation. The group of about 30 women operate a weekly harvesting schedule (depending on weather) and take particular attention to their harvesting methods to preserve the runners and to not damage the growing fields. Shipment to the mainland is a weekly exercise and market volumes and vendor requests are co-ordinated by mobile phone as far as Suva. In some cases the harvesters will travel with stock on the small island ferry to the port of Lautoka and do their own retailing at the local municipal market. Generally as the majority of consumption occurs in CAULERPA CHAIN REVIEW 5 Suva they will depend on vendors and other wholesalers to do the sales on their behalf. The port and the market serve as the consolidation point for middlemen who then carry out the distribution to other local markets and road side stalls and in some case to some resorts. Regular supply fulfilment has given vendors particularly in Suva confidence. Export development is currently being explored by a Queensland company interested in Asian and Australian markets (see appendix South Pacific Seaweeds) and a Fijian exporter who has carried out some export shipments to Auckland New Zealand. Export may have some potential but issues such as supply, shelf life, air freight costs, export packaging phyto-sanitary access, markets and consumer development would need to be carefully considered. Our rapid assessment suggests that exporting is unlikely to be commercially viable in the medium term until cultivation and shelf life issues are addressed. Industry wide Value Chain maps for Caulerpa in Fiji and Samoa are shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, respectively. Fig. 1. Industry Wide Chain Map for Caulerpa in Fiji CAULERPA CHAIN REVIEW 6 Fig. 2. Industry Wide Chain Map for Caulerpa in Samoa Opportunities in Research for Development As a result of the initial rapid chain analysis the key researchable issues to facilitate the development of the Caulerpa industry were identified as; 1. Assessing the status of current harvest areas to understand the available capacity of the existing resource and confirm current and identify new fields in Fiji /Samoa. 2. This should include a scientifically designed study of the carrying capacity of primary harvest sites in both Samoa and Fiji. In addition, an extensive study of the reproductive biology and ecology of Caulerpa (never yet done in the Pacific region) should be carried out. 3. The results of both of these studies would help in the development of a management strategy for Caulerpa, which currently does not exist. A Third study of the various “forms” of “Nama” being CAULERPA CHAIN REVIEW 7 harvested and sold in Fiji would be useful; this might need to include some genetic (DNA) work. The formal taxonomy of these forms is currently inadequate 4. Educate harvesters about correct harvest methods to ensure fields are sustainable over time. 5. Evaluate alternative packaging methods for the transfer of the sea grapes to market (storage in the ferry boat and vehicles in heavy bags squashes and causes considerable damage which reduces returns and means substandard product is sold to consumers.