Seaweeds farming for sustainable development goals and blue economy in Bangladesh

Seaweeds are primary producers and among the important marine ecosystem engineers capable of modifying their surrounding abiotic and biotic environments. The southern coast of Bangladesh has an excellent prospect for seaweeds farming due to favorable environmental conditions and natural availability of commercially important species. Through quantitative and qualitative analyses, the present study determines potential contribution of seaweeds toward achieving several targets of United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the blue economic development in Bangladesh. There are 300 households engaged in seaweeds farming, primarily along the southeast coast, producing 390 tonnes wet weight (= 97.5 tonnes dry weight) of seaweeds per annum with potential applications in food, feed, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals sectors. And the current seaweeds production can be increased…