Ecobreves – CUBA: Cultivating Sea Sponges

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

HAVANA, Oct 5 2009 (IPS) - The creation of farms to grow sea sponges is opening the way for an economic and environmental alternative in Carahatas, a fishing community of 800 people in the central Cuban province of Villa Clara. An experimental effort on two hectares proved the project's viability and gave rise to larger-scale development. An initial farm of 12 hectares is expected to produce one ton of this marine invertebrate by the middle of next year, program director Ángel Quirós told Tierramérica.

The project humanizes the work of the fisherfolk and offers them a sustainable option, he added.

According to his calculations, the zone has the potential for 15 farms, with each one attended by two people. One ton of sponges fetches more than 15,000 dollars on the international market, for use in bath articles and decoration, among others.