Mariculture Potential of Gracilaria Species [Rhodophyta] in Jamaican Nitrate-Enriched Back-Reef Habitats Growth, Nutrient Uptake, and Elemental Composition

Mariculture of Gracilaria species for agar production and as a local food resource in several countries has become increasingly important as an alternative to the harvesting of wild, agar-producing seaweeds (agarophytes). Increasing demand for agar by the food-processing, pharmaceutical, microbiological, and biotechnological industries has led to a world shortage of agarophytes and the possibility of permanent ecosystem damage (McLachlan and Bird 1983; Sullivan 1983; McHugh 1984; McLachlan et al. 1986).