Seaweed farmers in Western Mindanao will soon have a regular source of quality seedlings because of the establishment of a seaweed gene bank and nursery at the Rio Hondo campus of the Zamboanga State College of Marine Science and Technology (ZSCMST). Composed of fiberglass tanks fitted with aerators, the facility, which cost P1.7 million, was created through the joint efforts of ZSCMST officials and experts from the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC-AQD). The first of its kind in the Zamboanga Peninsula, the seaweed gene bank and nursery will provide a source of high-quality strains of Kappaphycus alvarezii, also known as Eucheuma cottoni, from which carrageenan, a hydrocolloid is extacted. Initially four local strains of Kappaphycus, which include "tambalang", "vanguard", "adik-adik" and "sakol," were collected from seaweed farms in "Eleven Islands" and "Arena Blanco.

Zamboanga puts up 1st seaweed gene bank, nursery. (2007, April 1). The Philippine Star, p. B-5.