Prospects of seaweed farming in India

Seaweeds constitute one of the commercially important marine living renewable resources. They are used as human food, feed for animals, fertilizer for land crops, source of chemicals and drugs. The estimated total standing crop of seaweeds from intertidal and shallow waters of all maritime states, Lakshadweep and Andaman was 91,339 tons (wet wt.). The quantity of seaweeds estimated in deep waters of Tamilnadu was 75,373 tons (wet wt.) in an area of 1863 sq.km. from Dhanushkodi to Kanyakumari.