Seawed Lembongan island

Bali is now Indonesia’s largest producer of seaweed after West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, Central Sulawesi and South Sulawesi.Nusa Lembongan Island, which boasts luxurious mansions owned by seaweed farmers who contribute significantly to the island’s economy, may be losing it’s next generation of such farmers.

The cultivation of seawed is now a well established industry, for which the shallow waters around Nusa Penida and Lembongan are particularly suitable. Because rain fall is low, the seawater maintains a high level of salinity, which is ideal for seawed growth. Small pieces of a marine algae (Eucheuma) are attached to strings that are streched between bamboo poles these underwater fences can be seen off many of the beaches, and especially in the shallows between Lembongan and Ceningan.

Growth is so fast that new shoots can be harvested every 45 days. The seawed is then spread out on mats to dry in the sun a sight and smell that you’ll notice as you stroll around the seashore at Lembongan. The dried red and green seawed is shipped to Padangbai, and then exported to Hong Kong, Japan and Europe, where its main use is for carrageen, an emulsifying and gelling agent in processed foods and cosmetics.