East Nusa Tenggara Strengthens Sustainable Seaweed Farming Standards

East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province is one of the main centers of national seaweed production. In recent years, NTT’s seaweed output has ranged from 1.4–2.1 million tons per year, contributing around 15 percent of national production.

However, there are challenges that must be addressed together behind this significant potential. These include maintaining consistent production quality, ensuring product traceability, and implementing farming practices that protect coastal ecosystems in the long term. Therefore, improving capacity and understanding of farming standards has become increasingly important.

This effort was the focus of the Good Aquaculture Practices (CBIB) Technical Guidance Workshop for seaweed commodities, organized by the Provincial Marine and Fisheries Service of NTT in collaboration with the Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara (YKAN) in Kupang on 10–11 June 2026. The event was attended by local government representatives and 20 seaweed farmers from the regencies of Kupang, Rote Ndao, and Sabu Raijua.

Acting Head of the NTT Marine and Fisheries Service, Stefania T. Boro, stated that the regional government continues to promote quality improvements in the aquaculture sector as a key pillar of the province's marine economic development.

“NTT has great potential as one of the national seaweed production hubs. Our challenge today is not only to increase production volume but also to ensure product quality, sustainability, and competitiveness. By strengthening the capacity of government officials and farmers, we hope the application of CBIB standards will become more widespread, providing greater economic benefits for coastal communities,” she said.

CBIB is a national standard developed by the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) to ensure that aquaculture activities comply with principles of quality, food safety, fish health, environmental sustainability, and social responsibility. For seaweed, the application of this standard is still relatively new compared to other aquaculture commodities such as shrimp.

Sri Ismaryati, a resource person from the Directorate General of Aquaculture at KKP, explained that CBIB is not only focused on production results but also on responsible farming processes.

“CBIB is designed to ensure that every stage of aquaculture is carried out properly, starting from site preparation, seed selection, maintenance, harvesting, and post-harvest handling. The standard also covers work safety, waste management, and environmental protection. With proper implementation, product quality will improve, and market access opportunities will also expand,” she explained.

During the two-day event, participants received materials on government policies regarding CBIB; the principles of quality and food safety; the health benefits of seaweed; environmental sustainability; socio-economic aspects; the Indonesian National Standard (SNI); the preparation of CBIB certification documents; and the Online Single Submission (OSS) licensing system.

Quality for Sustainability

A key part of the event was the self-assessment, in which participants compared their current farming practices with CBIB standards. This exercise revealed that many of the practices already employed by farmers align with CBIB principles.

Yefri Yermias Boboy, a seaweed farmer from Rote Ndao Regency, said the workshop provided new insights into standards that they had, in fact, been practicing in the field.

“Through this training, we realized that many of the technical requirements of CBIB are already part of what we do, such as selecting proper farming sites, using quality seeds, and handling post-harvest processes. So, we are not starting from zero; rather, we are reinforcing and completing the practices we already have to meet the standards,” he said.

A similar view was shared by Yohana Kale, a seaweed farmer from Sabu Raijua Regency who has been receiving guidance from YKAN. According to her, many of the principles in the Best Management Practices (BMP) that they have been applying align with CBIB standards.

“During discussions, we saw that much of what BMP teaches is consistent with CBIB principles—from site preparation, seed selection, and proper harvest timing to post-harvest handling. This workshop helped us understand that our existing practices support CBIB standards; we just need to strengthen and document them better,” she said.

These findings are encouraging for the effort to raise seaweed farming standards in NTT. Practices introduced through the BMP approach have proven to be highly compatible with CBIB principles.

Amid growing market demand for traceable and responsibly produced products, strengthening standards is a crucial step to ensure seaweed continues to provide livelihoods for coastal communities while protecting the marine environment that sustains it.

YKAN's Ocean Program Director, Muhammad Ilman, emphasized that reinforcing aquaculture standards is essential to building a sustainable blue economy in coastal areas.

“Seaweed plays a strategic role in the economy of NTT’s coastal communities. Therefore, quality improvement and sustainable farming must go hand in hand. CBIB provides a comprehensive framework to ensure that aquaculture practices not only deliver good yields but also consider environmental aspects, work safety, and community welfare,” he concluded.