Seaweeds which are macroscopic marine algae belong to the primitive non flowering group - Thallophyta. They grow submerged and attached to hard substrata such as stones, rocks and coral reefs along the shallow coasts, lagoons, estuaries and brackishwater habitats of the Andaman - Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands and coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. Based on their pigmentation and other morphological characteristics they are categorised into three major groupschlorophyceae which is popularly known as green seaweeds, phaeophyceae or brown seaweeds and rhodophyceae or red seaweeds.
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For centuries, seaweeds of various kinds have been put to several uses in the countries of south and south-east Asia (Chapman and Chapman, 1980). The utilisation of these seaweeds has come up step by step starting with using them as food, later as raw material for industrial, medicinal, pharmaceutical and cosmetic purposes.
The extended coastline of India of about 7500 km long with wide shelf area of 0.451 million sq. km. provide the most suitable environment for seaweed growth. The extensive shallow bays, coral reefs and lagoons, characterised by slow to moderately strong currents coupled with sandy and coralline bottoms make the Indian coastal belts, the ideal habitat for many economic seaweeds.
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Survey was conducted during May·June 1988 to study the seaweed distribution and resources along the Kerala coast. Algal collection was made at 15 localities from intertidal and subtidal regions and totally 35 species belonging to 28 genera and 18 families were recorded. The nature of the coastline, places of algal occurrence and their resources are given.
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Since the inception of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute at Mandapam in 1947, research on seaweeds and their utilisation is being carried out. Later on research on Indian seaweeds Was started by Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavnagar, National Institute of Oceanography, Goa and some State Government Fisheries Departments.
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Data on the quantity of seaweeds harvested from the natural seaweed beds of Tamil Nadu coast were collected at monthly intervals from different landing centres for a period of 4 years from 1996 to 1999. During this period, the quantity of agar yielding seaweeds viz. Gelidiella acerosa, Gracilaria edulis, G. crassa and G. foliifera varied from 746 to 1296 tonnes (dry wt) and that of algin yielding seaweeds Sargassum spp., Turbinaria spp. and Cysroseira trinodis varied from 1884 to 3817 tonnes (dry wt) per year. From the data on collection of seaweeds from the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay, commercial harvest is suggested only during their peak growth period from July 1 August to January every year. The harvest of commercially important seaweeds in a rational way from other parts of the Indian coast and also from Lakshadweep and Andaman - Nicobar islands is recommended. The necessity for starting large scale cultivation of seaweeds particularly agarophytes is also emphasised for successful running of Indian seaweed industries.
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Greenhouse-grown carrot plants were sprayed with an extract (0.2%) of the seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum (SW) and then inoculated 6 h later with the fungal pathogens Alternaria radicina and Botrytis cinerea. Additional applications of SW were made 10 and 20 d after inoculation. Treated plants showed significantly reduced disease severity at 10 and 25 d after inoculation compared to control plants sprayed with water. SW was more effective than salicylic acid (SA) (100 mM) in reducing infection. Activity of certain defence-related enzymes, including peroxidase (PO), polyphenoloxidase, phenylalanine ammonia lyase, chitinase and b-1,3-glucanase, were significantly increased in plants treated with SW and SA compared to the control 12 h after treatment. The treated plants also had higher transcript levels of pathogenesis-related protein I (PR-1), chitinase, lipid transfer protein (Ltp), phenylalanine ammonia lyase (Pal), chalcone synthase, non-expressing pathogenesis-related protein (NPR-1) and pathogenesis-related protein 5 (PR-5) genes compared to control plants. These results show that SW enhances disease resistance in carrot, likely through induction of defence genes or proteins.
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Brgy.Tiabas, San Dionisio, Iloilo is a coastal barangay in the northern part of Iloilo Province. The main source of living of the residents is seaweed farming. Most of them belong to the low-income family; hence they worked hard to sustain their basic needs. So, even if they have the eagerness to send their children to school and provide wholesome recreational activities to their children but still they could not achieve because of their socio-economic status. This paper sought to determine seaweed farmers’ parental involvement towards the education and recreational activities of their children in Brgy. Tiabas, San Dionisio, Iloilo. The respondents of the study composed of fifty (50) parents. Responses from the researcher-made questionnaire were used to gather data during the period October 2016 – December 2017.The study revealed that level of involvement of seaweed farmers in the education of their children was very high whereas in the recreational activities was high. Educational background and family income of seaweed farmers do not influence their involvement in the educational endeavor and recreational activities of their children. It means that seaweed farmers are very supportive and helpful in providing education and recreational activities of their children regardless of their educational background and meager income from seaweed farming. High and significant relationship was observed between the level of involvement of seaweed farmers towards the education and recreational activities of their children. Thus, it may be inferred that seaweed farmers give the same level of involvement in providing better education and wholesome recreational activities to their children.
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It’s a move towards a more sustainable and responsible agriculture: growing marine algae (seaweed) would require no pesticides, hormones, and are virtually drought- resistant. And researchers have found that some types of algae grown in a cultured environment often produce a higher biomass of algae per cubic area than land-based crops like wheat and corn. The leafy sea crop is a low-calorie, low-fat source of protein and iron, and is full of nutrients like vitamin K, folic acid and calcium.
Norway, world-leading producer of farmed Atlantic salmon, is already on the map for utilizing natural stocks of algae and kelp in its cold, clean northern waters.
Since the beginning of salmon farming in the 1970s, Norway has been working hard to advance techniques in aquaculture and mariculture based on sustainable and ecologically safe growth and harvest practices. They have one of the most successful salmon farming operations worldwide, accounting for 54 percent of all farmed Atlantic salmon in 2016. Not surprisingly, the country is a source of innovation in techniques that the rest of the world have long valued for their own fish farming operations.
Research in seaweed has increased in line with a push for Scandinavian countries to take the lead in a Blue Bioeconomy — businesses based on the sustainable and smart use of renewable aquatic natural resources.
Seaweed aquaculture started here about 10 years ago, and already one can find over 20 companies in Norway involved in some way with seaweed cultivation.
Can one make seaweed aquaculture energy-efficient and eco-friendly?
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University of Connecticut professor Charlie Yarish, also known as ‘Capt. Seaweed,’ is a leader in the emerging U.S. sea vegetable farming industry. (
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Ocean acidification is just one of the ways in which coastal communities are already feeling the effects of a changing global ocean. The potentially devastating ramifications have made it an urgent environmental and economic issue. A collaborative project led by the Puget Sound Restoration Fund in conjunction with NOAA and other partners, was just awarded $1.5 million by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation to tackle the impacts of ocean acidification. The project looks to employ an unlikely hero: seaweed.
“There are not a lot of tools in the tool box that can fight ocean acidification or remove carbon dioxide (CO ) from the ocean” says Dr. Michael Rust, NOAA Aquaculture Science Coordinator and a collaborator on the project. “Seaweed farms might be one of our best bets.”
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