The cultivation of algae is gaining growing importance day after day with the considerable expansion witnessed by the aquaculture sector in the Kingdom. The significance of algae stems from the fact that it is as one of the important components of the raw material used to establish the support industries, such as the fish feed industry, for which the demand is expected to increase during the coming period with the increasing volume of production. Algae are seen as one of the sources of the vegetable protein that may assist in reducing the costs of feed production.

Those in charge of the aquaculture sector have endeavored to formulate policies which would support and encourage entering into the algae production operations in the Kingdom and take advantage of the favorable climatic factors, as well as government support for this industry. One of the most important initiatives that is currently being worked on and is put forward by the Saudi Aquaculture Society in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, is the drawing up of a road map for the cultivation of algae in the Kingdom, which had been recently announced by His Excellency, the Deputy Minister for Fisheries Affairs, Engineer, Jaber Al-Shihri.