Coastal Aquaculture and Mariculture (2+1)

Unit 1 - Shore based aquaculture and mariculture

1.2.6. Sponges

• Sponge aquaculture is generating considerable interest in the research community, but commercial production of farmed sponges in the Asia-Pacific region is low.
• There is a small commercial farm in Pohnpei (Federated States of Micronesia) and several experimental operations in Australia, New Zealand and the Solomon Islands.
• Sponge aquaculture is similar to seaweed culture in that sponges can be propagated vegetatively, and little infrastructure is necessary to establish farms.
• The harvested product (for bath sponges) can be dried and stored and does not require infrastructure such as refrigeration. Consequently, like seaweed culture, sponge culture may be ideal for remote communities, particularly in the Pacific.
• However, the market acceptance and economic viability of commercial sponge farming has not yet been established. Further assessment of basic biological parameters such as growth and survival, as well as development of marketing channels, is necessary before large-scale sponge aquaculture can be developed.

sponges