Cultivation of seaweed as a factor of development of a coastal community in Acaraú, Ceará

Abstract

Seaweeds are benthic organisms widely distributed along the coasts, from tropical to Polar Regions. They are part of the Kingdom Plantae and, like terrestrial plants, marine algae also form the basis of the food chain, but in aquatic ecosystems, being among the main primary producers. The cultivation and use of marine macroalgae in a certain coastal community has its ecological, economic and social benefits, being used for human and animal nutrition, manufacture of beauty products, bioactive compounds, such as agar, carrageenan and alginate, production of extracts, for use in seed germination or as a foliar spray, aiming the better crop performance and yield, with the biomass resulting from this extract used as biofertilizers, applied directly to the soil of various cultivars. In tropical regions, it is important to highlight the genus Gracilaria (Rhodophyta), widely cultivated due to its high agar yield, such as the species Gracilaria birdiae. In this work we address macroalgae mariculture as a factor in the development of a coastal community on the Volta do Rio beach, in the municipality of Acaraú, Ceará. In this first moment, the cultivation of macroalgae, which is in the initial phase of production, will be destined for the manufacture of cosmetics, such as shampoo, conditioner, liquid and bar soap and algae moisturizer, all of which will be destined for commercialization, thus increasing, the income of the community involved in the project, showing the social responsibility that the referred extension action exerts.