Aquaculture Foundation of India & The Fisheries Technocrats Forum
Abstract
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 kIn long with wide shelf area of 0.451
million sq. kIn. 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