Seaweed cultivation can provide important income in remote areas and significant exports for nations like the Solomon Islands. This industry may also provide a sustainable alternative to more extractive industries like forestry, fishing and terrestrial agriculture.

This report outlines the spatial decision support tools developed to help planners and policy makers in the Solomon Islands identify sites suitable for seaweed cultivation and demonstrates how innovative technology and local expertise can be integrated to provide ongoing support for planning, investment and community engagement. In collaboration with the Solomon Island Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources the research team identified physical, biological, economic and social factors influencing the suitability of locations for seaweed farms and mapped 35 existing, previous or potential locations for seaweed farms.