Biophysical and economic feasibility status of the seaweed cultivation in Sabu Raijua Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

Seaweed is one of the aquaculture commodities with great potential to be developed in Sabu Raijua Regency, Indonesia. The purpose of this study was to determine the economic and biophysical feasibility status of seaweed cultivation in Sabu Raijua Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. This research was conducted in the Sabu Raijua Regency waters on April-June 2020, in the scope of 1 sub-district and 7 villages, by purposive sampling methods. The studied research criteria were environmental indicators (water quality) and economic indicators. The results showed that the financial feasibility indicators reached the following values: a profit of 49 USD, a profitability of 15%, an R/C Ratio of 1.5 and the break-even point value of 0.19 USD, which means that the aquaculture business can be developed as feasible and profitable. Meanwhile, from the water quality indicator perspective, the following values were determined: current velocity of 0.24 m s^-1, brightness of 4 m, depth of 0.45 m, salinity of 30 ppt, temperature of 30℃, pH 7.5 and dissolved oxygen 7.4 mg L^-1, demonstrating that seaweed cultivation in the Sabu Raijua waters is in accordance with the water quality standards. The seaweed cultivation business in Sabu Raijua Regency is classified as very feasible and profitable, based on the economic and biophysical feasibility status, and can be developed in a more professional direction, by looking at the appropriate cultivation management attributes.