Grenada PM Dickon Mitchell invites proposals for Sustainable Sargassum Seaweed Production

The Prime Minister of Grenada, Dickon Mitchell called upon all companies yesterday to submit their proposals in relation to sustainable production and processing of Sargassum seaweed by the end of January 2025 after issuing an Expressing of Interest regarding the same. 

This took place after the successful conduction of the first ever European Union Grenada Task Force Meeting where the main topic of discussion was on the Sargassum Valorisation. 

Discussions around the Sargassum Collection Issue

The event was held at the Radisson Hotel a week ago on Dec 4th 2024 where PM Mitchell pledged to secure and process a record 10000 tonnes of Sargassum by 2026. As per a report by European External Action Service (EEAS), “The meeting marked a significant step forward achieving this ambitious target, with talks of offshore collection, resource mobilization, and the development of scalable pilot projects to address the sargassum issue regionally.”

The report further stated, “Bringing together representatives from the Grenada Government, private sector companies, International Finance Institutions, Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and European Development Agencies among other stakeholders provided a common platform for collaborative problem solving and innovation.”

What is Sargassum, and its benefits?

Sargassum is a brown coloured seaweed (basically a species of algae) that floats in an island-like structure on top of the sea surface but never drops down and attaches to the oceanic bed. 

It can be identified by its leafy appendages, branches and round berry-like structures that make up the total plant formation upon close inspection. The berries are gas filled structures filled up with oxygen. These help in buoyancy of the whole structure and allow the algae to float on the surface.

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Sargassum is the raw ingredient that has many medicinal qualities. It has anti inflammatory, antioxidant properties, is neuroprotective, anti microbial, antitumor, immune modulatory, and is antiviral. Due to this reason, the EU in collaboration with the Govt of Grenada are trying to tap into the natural resource for making medicines with advancement in biorefinery technology.

Problems With Sargassum and the way ahead

Sargassum seaweed is a major ecological and financial threat across the Caribbean islands. Large islands like Jamaica are more capable of managing the threats and solving it while smaller communities like those in Grenada or St Vincent need proper infrastructural support from the international community for addressing the issue.