From Their Own Ulva Seaweed Farm to the Table! On 30 October 2026, two officials from the Aquaculture Unit and three officials from the Training Unit, together with Satoshi from the OFCF, spent a day with the Nanikaai community for local seaweed cultivation till it ready to serve as a dish. During the visit, the community harvested their own cultivated Ulva seaweed from their farming site. The cultivated species belongs to the genus Ulva and is closely related to Ulva meridionalis. This harvest follows months of continuous planting, with cultivation activities taking place every month since April 2026. The initiative aims to promote the sustainability of Ulva cultivation while exploring future livelihood opportunities through seaweed farming and value-added product development. MFOR is therefore pleased to announce that Nanikaai has become the first community to successfully cultivate and harvest its own Ulva seaweed. In addition to harvesting, the Nanikaai community participated in practical training covering the proper harvesting, handling, preparation and processing of seaweed into ready-to-serve products. Two recipes were introduced during the training: Ulva crackers and Ulva salad. Community members had the opportunity to taste the newly prepared products and found them enjoyable, edible and easy to prepare. The training also highlighted the nutritional benefits of Ulva, which, according to the source, contains higher nutritional value than cabbage. MFOR extends its sincere appreciation to the Nanikaai community and Satoshi from OFCF for their valuable collaboration, participation and commitment to this initiative. With these first two value-added products successfully introduced, MFOR looks forward to exploring further opportunities for seaweed product development and will share more updates as they become available.

A Minister from the Ministry of Fisheries Ocean Resources acknowledge the support from Dr Satoshi. Ohasi for providing this important training to Nanikaai Community.