Welcome

The International Seaweed Association (ISA) welcomes you to its web site. The ISA is an international organisation dedicated to the encouragement of research and development of seaweed and seaweed products. The mission of the ISA is to promote applied phycology on a global basis, and to stimulate interactions among research workers and industrialists in all relevant institutions and industries in all countries. Within this mission, the objectives of the ISA are primarily directed towards seaweeds, but also include other algae including cyanobacteria, as well as algal constituents. Included are studies on basic biology and chemistry of utilized or potentially utilizable algae; algal biotechnologies; responsible resource management and conservation programs; improved harvesting, cultivation, and processing of algae; and utilization of algal products and their derivatives.

One of the main activities of the ISA is the organisation of a 3-yearly International Seaweed Symposium of which 18 have now taken place all over the world, the most recent in Kobe, Japan in 2007, which was attended by 535 persons from 46 countries, including 50 accompanying persons. This was the second symposium to be held in Japan, the first being in 1973. The XXth Symposium will take place at the Instituto do Investigaciones Oceanologicas, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Ensenada, Mexico in Summer 2010. Further details will be announced on this site as soon as possible. Ensenada is about one hour south of San Diego, California.

The Proceedings of Symposia are published on behalf of the ISA under the general title of "Proceedings of the International Seaweed Symposium", which can be searched here. The Proceedings of the XIXth Symposium will be published by the Journal of Applied Phycology.

The ISA operates according to a Code which is reviewed by a Council appointed at each Symposium.