The PHILIPPINES - 7,000 Islands

I like water and sunshine – both are plentiful in the Philippines so that country was on my wish list to visit. With a wink, I remark that it is important to chose an area of one’s research , well, very thoughtfully.  In my biosorption research we identified the need for certain seaweeds, namely Sargassum. So when I noticed that there was a world congress of the Seaweed Society in Cebu City, I thought that I should be there. And how right I was ! While this was not my “scientific crowd”, I was also invited by the Cebu Chapter of Chemical Engineering to deliver a few lectures.
I was glad I made it there.  The Philippines are a mix of the local culture with strong Spanish and American influences left over from periods of supremacies. Cebu City happens to be the oldest city in the Philippines but one would never guess that. Just look at it here, all modern. Note the favorite Philippino local street transportation “jeepneys” – somewhat over-decorated, small open busses. Or the outrigger boats of all sizes, small ones powered by paddles, bigger ones are motorized (photo below). This tropical archipelago is as far from Canada as could be – not only geographically but almost in all aspects. Via Vancouver, Hong Kong and Manila, I made my way to Cebu City on Cebu Island, the Conference location.  Needless to mention, I was already in contact with the local University colleagues and was delighted to meet them.  I barely settled down in the tropics and the Conference was starting. Well, almost starting.  The world-wide science crowd of some 800 people was all gathered for the opening address – that could not start. The electricity conked out. The Conference Chair’s presence of mind saved the situation by initiating an impromptu open general debate - until the electricity comes back on. Any questions or comments from the audience ?

My arm somehow shot up by itself – please go ahead:  “I am an engineer totally out of my depth here among you esteemed bio- and algo-logists.  But I have a challenge for you. For the application of a new biosorption process that we conceived and are developing we might need 15,000 tons of Sargassum seaweed. Could anyone here tell me where and how to get hold of it ?” The response of the gathered scientific crowd was only short of dropping a bomb.
That innocent challenge stirred a totally overwhelming debate about it. Why so much ?
I explained the detoxification of some billions of gallons of water gathered and rising in an open-pit mine in Montana. We need to remove the toxic heavy metals from it and dried sargassum biomass was identified as an excellent agent for it. Larger quantities of Sargassum are not being commercially produced – could they be ? This fired up all the algologists’ imagination – and I was just besieged by questions - and offers.

The Philippines, with all the (shallow) water around are a major producer of numerous types of algae, for all kinds of purposes and applications. Local producers, also present at the Congress, became very excited too.  And later, I went touring their “water farms” all around Cebu. That way I got to see what few people have the opportunity to. Often, I heard laud boom-noise like artillery firing. What was it ?
“Dynamite”, was the subdued shy answer, “illegal fishing with dynamite and there is nothing that we can do about it. The poachers are just too powerful and too dangerous.”  
My goodness, the realities of life shook me up.
But we did find big patches of Sargassum growing around. And I carried home with me a 30-kg plastic bag of dry compressed biomass as a “sample” gift for our research tests. Yes, it worked and awaits scaling it up. Plentyful supply of the seaweed biomass could be secured from the Philippines – and Indonesia, and other warm-sea locations around the world. Just go and do it – anyone ?

Outrigger boats of all sizes are omnipresent on water. We used one from the local Oceanographic Department – to look for Sargassum, of course.










Seaweeds are a labor-intensive big industry in the Philippines:

And how about some Philippino food ? Fish, of course - but with so many islands this may get a little complicated. So just a little cross-section perhaps ? Look :