Seaweeds are used as human foods,lock feed and utiliser in different parts of the world. Apart from these traditional uses, the seaweed

extractives of red and brown algae such as agar-agar, algin and Carrageenan, are employed in various industries, especially, food, confectionary,

pharmaceuticals and textile industries. Recent studies on seaweeds gave promising results on their role in waste treatment and as potential sources

of drugs and bio-energy. These new applications will further increase the demand for seaweeds in the near future

Rao, M Umamaheswara

CMFRI Digital Repository

AQUACULTURE PRODUCTIVITY Editors V.R.P. SINHA Director, Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Bombay H.C. SRIV AST AVA Advisor, Hindustan Lever Ltd. New Delhi OXFORD & IBH PUBLISHING CO. PVT. LTD. New Delhi Bombay Calcutta Proceedings of the Symposium on AqUirculture Productivity held in December 1988 IInder aegis of Hindustan Lever Research Foundation Lit.3ry of tl ", i' E .. ,t.. < Date r.f rece;pt : ' r .. /. ~ Fi:J:ulel .~, . ~~,J}in Acc~ssi~1\ No._ ...... . 6-7S::';<, ......... .. __ ;:i~ No jS~ .. '3t3.;;...: .. 7...~N © 199/ Hindustoll Lei'" Research Foundation ISBN 81-204-0559-5 Published by Afohall Primlonifor Oxford & ISH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. , 66 Janpath, New Delhi' 10001 alld printed by Sunil Prillters, R illg Road, Naraina, New Delhi J 10028 ]-Do-S '?~ .. 44 ·~~ Seaweed Cultivation in India-Present and Future M. UMAMAHESW ARA RAO' Introduction .. Seaweeds are used as human· fQ.odJ s,!ock feed and w tiliser in diffe!.enr parts of the · world. Apart from these traditional uses, the seaweed extractives of red and brown algae such as agar-agar, algin and Carra-geenan, are .employed in various industries, especially, food, confectionary, pharmaceuticals and textile industries. Recent studies on seaweeds gave promising results on their role in waste treatment and as potential sources of drugs and bio-energy. These new applications will further increase the demand for seaweeds in the near future. Though economically useful seaweeds are available along the Indian shores, their annual yield fro m natural habitats is very low. Special efforts re therefore needed in the coun ry to maximise production and maintain a continuous supply of raw material to the industry ·by manipulating the tiiral habitats or by cultivating the useful species on ar tificial substrata.'" This paper not only reviews the present -status of seaweed cultivatiOl;l n India but also emphasises the need for their cultivation on a large scale. Details regarding the ecological characteristics of culture grounds and future lines of work io be taken up for successful cultivation of sea weeds a:re.also discussed. Need for cultivatioD or seaweeds - . Seaweed resources estimated from the coastal areas of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Laksha-dweep (Chauhan, 1978; Chauhan aiid Mairh , 1978; Chennubhotla e/ al., 502 A.quaculture Productivity 1988; Mitra, 1946; Dargalkar, 1981 and Subbaramiah et 01., 1979a, b; 1987) are shown in Table 1. The total quantity of all types of seaweeds Table 1. Seawerd resources estimated (rom tbe Indian coast Standing Crop (Tons) State Wet weight Dry weigbt· Gujarat 446.2 1339 Maharashtra. . 278,3 83.5 003.- 2000.0 600.5 Tamil Nadu (Shallow waters) 22044.0 6613.2 Tamil Nadu (Deep w!uers) 9100.0 2730.0 Andhra Prad!!sh 7493.0 2247.9 Orissa 5.0 1.5 Lakshadweep 7524.0 2257.2 Total 48~90.5 14667.2 *Bascd on 70 per cenl water content. v '"' estimated from differe~t states was 48,980.5 metric tons wet weight, which is approximately equal to 14,662 tonnes dry weight. from the data obtained in these surveys about 30 per cent of total dry seaweeds estimated (that is, 4390.2 tonnes) account for .agar:agar a d algin-yielding plants. D...!!!ing the last two decades agar-agar and algin -industries arc wel!-~tablished in the country and according to Venkates.!LKumar 1980) were are 20 agar-agar aQd 12 sodium alginate manufacturing units-with an installed capacity of 1821 tonnes per year. Due to Jack of sufficient raw material, the production ~f seaweed colloides from these units-.: wa. far less than the installed capacity. Further a total quantity of about 9,105 tonnes of agar-agar and algin-yielding seaweeds are required to manufacture 1821 tonnes of 2l!ycocollides per year (at the rate of 20 per cent yield on dry weight basis). 'I hese estimates clearly show the wide gap betwee n supply and demand for seaweeds in the country. Data on the density of some wild agarophytes from natural habitats (Tamil Nadu coast-Subbaramiah et 01., 1979a) and from the culture e,periments (Patel et 01., 1979;_ Umamaheswara Rao, 1974 and Rama Rao el 01., 1985) are given in Table 2. This informMion clearly indicates that Ihe rate of production and density of seaweed crop are more in culture grounds than in natural habitats. The above facts on resources and rates of production, emphasise the need for farming the useful species of sea-weeds along the Indian shores. Present status of sea weed cultivation More than two decades back some preliminary experiments were made . 1'., . . 0: . ' .' • . . . • . M. UrtiDmalfe~~:a"a 1&0 503 Table Z. Densitlel of wild aod cultured agarophytes Agarophyte Gelidiella aceorosa Gracilaria spp. Hypnea spp. ·00 the basis of dry weigbt. Density (wet weight) Wild plants (glm') 0.1 1.4 1.1 Cultured plants (kg/m') 0.3* 4.4 I\.6 to culture Sargassum ci'!!'IUrn in sea water ponds (Thivy, 1964) and Graci/aria edulis and Graci/aria corticala in aquarium tanks and natural -r--L ... _ habitats (Umamaheswara Rao, 1'968). Later many small scale experiments and pilot plant studies were made by different workers using the rope and net methods and also using substrata like coral stones. Agarophytes like Graci/aria edulis were cultivated by Raju and Thomas (1971); Umamahes-wara Rao (1974); Krishnamurthy el al. (1977) and Chennubhotla er al. (1978); Gelidiella Dcerosa by Subbaramiah el al. (1975); Patel el al. (1979) and Ch.;nnubMtla el al. (1977) and Hypnea musciformis and Hypnea valenliae by Rama Rao (1982), Rama Rao and Subbaramiah (1980) and Ra~ Rao el al. (1985). Raju and Venugopal (1971) worked on the settlement and growth of Sargassum spp. on artificial substrata placed in shallow waters with a view to increasing the yield by habitat improvement method . Other algae such as species of Enleromorpha u/va were cultured by many workers (Ohno el al., 1981; Mairh el aI., 1983 and 1986 and Oza el aI., 1985 a, b). With the experimental data collected on the cultiva-tion and knowledge of biology oflndian sea weeds available (Umamahes-wara Rao, 1987) it would be possible to cultivate tbe agarophytes and other algae on a large scale using monolines and nets or by placing fresh rocky substrata in the seaweed growing areas. Ecological characteriatics of cultivation grounds Lagoons of a fringing coral reef near Mandapam and Kavaratti atoll (Lakshadweep), a small shallow bay along the open shore of Visakhapat-nam, estuarine part of the Godavari Delta and the salt water Pulicat Lake are shown in Fig. I to bring out the differences in the ecological cbaracter-istics of some calm and protected areas available along the Indian shores. Though calm and nutrient rich areas with optimum movement of water are suitable for the cultivation of sea weeds, salinity changes and availability of light in these areas play an important role in the growth and development of marine plants. A majority of commercially important seaweeds prefer high salinities ranging from 25 to 35 per cent and seaweed growth will be minimum if the waters are turbid due to the presence of suspended matter. The hydrographical conditions of each area, given in Fig. 1 clearly support --,-- -.... ~~ : ·Vi~lkh~patnlm . -, HYDROGRAPHY a) Ttmp. :!.04.30:C b) Salinity 22-3 5 (0\ t ) TranspartntY_ Hlg ( s!tthi ~tpt h 10 m) • .. ) 25-31 C b) o.5- ~3 °c t) low (S.O-O.3m ) K.6.VAR ATTI AlOlL PALK BAY MANDAPAM a) 24-30C b) 27- 37 '100 ,) High ( S. D- 8 m ) Fig. I. Some . - h I' dian shore . d protected areas alon~ ten , caIman . ~ .:. M. UliJ.amahfSWQT(I. Rao 5.05 that. the river mouths, salt water lakes and backwaters (eg., Cochinc back-water), with wide variations in salinity and low light penetration depth are not suitable for cultivation of sea weeds. However in salt water lakes · like Pulicat and Chilka it may be possible to cultivate'some species of Graci/aria growing in these areas, near bar mouths or during summer- months, when turbidity of water will be less and salinity will be high'. From the above examples it is clear that bays of creeks of the open shores, lagoons of coral reefs on the south-east coast of India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and atolls of Lakshadweep are suitable for immediately starting the seaweed mericulture programmes. Future lines of work Since the seaweed industy has been using indigenous agarophytes aqd alginophytes top priority must be given to cultivate the agar-agar and algin yielding plants. Considering the chemical and growth characteristics, suitable species of Gelidiella, Pleroc/adia, Graci/aria and Sargassum must be selected from the wild populations for cultivation. Simultaneously the following steps must be taken up to start the mericulture programmes in the country: 1) Formation of cooperative societies to seaweed farmers. 2) Starting of seaweed research centres. 3) A national plan on seaweed cultivation. This national plan on seaweed farming is necessary for coordinating the various efforts: a) to manipulate the natural seaweed growing habitats; b) to transplant the selected varieties of agarophytes and alginophytes in coastal areas where. they are not growing; c) to identify the culture grounds along the Indian shores; d) to transfer the culture grounds on a lease basis to interested sea-weed farmers; and, e) to provide financial assistance to seaweed farmers. The research centres to be established along the coastal areas must give training in culture technology to sea weed farmers and also carry out investigations on the following aspects to solve the problems associated with large scale seaweed cultivation: I) Production, storage and supply of seed material on a commercial scale. 2) Development of high yielding varieties of seaweeds by natural selection or hybridisation and gene manipulation. 3) Protection of cultivated seaweed crops from biological (pests and grazers) and physical factors (environmental cOnditions). 4) Application of fertilisers to seaweed crops. 5) Socio-economic problems of. the seaweed farmers. The future of seaweed cultivation in the country depends on the 506 Aquae'll/hire ProtblctMty combined efforts made by the scientists, cooperative societies; state governments and sea weed industry, and different roles played by these (}Jgllnisll/ions afC diagrammatically represented in Fig. 2. TRA.INING FA.CIL ITlE.S SEA.WEED CULTIVATION Fig. 2. Diagrammatic representation of the national plan on seaweed cuJtivalion and roles to be played by different organisations REFERENCES Chauhan, V.D . Report on the survey of marine algal resources of Maharashtra Coast. 5011 R~s. Indu. 14: 1·10, 1978. Chauhan, V.D. and O.P. Mairh. Report on the survey of economic sea-weed resour-ces of Saurashtra coast , lnJia. Sail Res.lndu. 14: 21.-41,1978. Chennubhotla, V.S.K. , S. Kalimuthu. M. Nijamuddin and M. Selvaraj . Field culture of Gdidiella acerosa in tbe inshore waters of Gulf , of ManDaT. J. Phycoi. 13 (Abstract) (Suppl), 1977. Chennubhotia, V.S.K., N. Kaliaperumal and S. Kalimuthu. Culture of Graci/aria ~dulis in the inshore waters of Gulf of Manoar (Mandapam). Indian J . Fish., 25 : 228-229, 1978. Chennubhotla, V.S.K., N. Kaliaperumal, S. Kalimuthu, 1.R. Ramalingam, K. Rama Rao and P.V. Subba Rao. Seaweed resources of Tuticorin·Tiruchendur Coast, Tamil Nadu, India. Symp . Trop. Mar. Living .Resources. MeAl, Cocbin (Abstract), 1988. Dargalkar, V.K. Studies on marine algae of the Goa coast. Ph.D thesis, Bombay Univ , Bombay, 1·186, 1981. Krishnamurthy. V., P.V. Raju and P.C. Thomas. On augmenting tbe sea weed resources of India . S~aweed Res. Uti/., 2: 37~41, 1977. Mairh, O.P., R.G. Parekh, V.D. Chauhan, P.S. Rao and 0 .1. Mahla. Ecology. culture and chemical constituents of Enteromorpha from Gujarat coast. Seaweed _ Res. UliI .• 6: 1-22, 1983. Mairb, O .P., R .S. Pandey and A. Tiwari . Cuhure of Enteromorpha /fexuosa (Wulf.) M.~Umamaheswa,a Roo 507 J. AI. (Chlorophyceae) in outdoor pools. Indian J. Mar. Sci. 15: 212·218, 1986. Mitra, G. Development of Chilka Lake, Cuttack, 1946. Ohno. M •• O.P. Mairh, V.D. Chauhan, A. Tewari. R,M. Oza, H.Y. Joshi, R.S. Pandey and P .S. Rao. Mass cultivation of green alga. Enteromorpha on the coast ofOkha, India. Rep, Usa. Mar. BioI. Inst. 3: 51-59. 1981. Oza. R.M .• H.V. Joshi. O.P. Mairh and A. Tewari. Swarmcr production and culti-vation of Ulvafasciata DeJile. in intertidal region at Okha. West Coast of India. Indian J. Mar. Sci. 14 : 217-219,1985 a. Ou, R.M., A. Tewari, H.V. Joshi, a.p. Mairh and M.M. Taquikhan. Further experiments on the field cullivation of Enleromorpha OD the coast of Okha. Gujarat. Marine Plants (ed. V. Krisbnamurtby), pp. 153·166. 1985 b. Patel. J.B .• B.V. Gopal, V.R. Nagulan, K. Subbaramiah aDd P.e. Thomas. Experi· mental field cultivation of Gelid/elJa acerosa at Ervadi. India. Int . Symp. Mar. Algae Indian Ocean Region, CSMCR[, Bhavnagar (Abslract), 1979. Raju, P.V. and P.C. Thomas. Experimental field cultivation of Graci/aria edulis (Orne!.) Silva. Bot . Mar. 14 : 71-75, 1971. Raju, P. V. and R. VenugoJ.al. Appearance and growth of Sareossum plagiophyl/um (Mert.) C. Ag. on a fresh substratum. Bot. Mar. 14: 46-48,1971. Rama Rao, K. Biology of Hypnea species and their possible ulilisation in India. Seaweed Res. Ulil. S : 11-19, 1982. Rama Rao, K. and K. Subbaramiah. A technique for the field cultivation of Hypnea musci/orm/s (Wulf) Lam. , a Carrageenophyte. Symp . Coast Aquacult., MBAI, eochin (Abstract), 1988. RUma Rao, K., M.R.P. Nair and K. Subbaramiah. Experimental fie ld culti vat ion of Hypnea valenliae (Turn.) Mont. at Kruradai Island. Marine Plallls (ed. V. Krishnamurthy), pp. 205·208, 1985. Subbaramiah, K., K. Rama Rao, P.C. Thomas, M.R.P. Nai r, B.G. Gopal and V.R. Nagulan. Cultivation of Gelidiella acerosa. Salt Res. IlJdu., 21 : 33-36. 1975. Subbaramiah, K., K. Rama Rao, M.R.P. Nair, C.Y.S. Krishna Murthy and M. Paramasivan. Marine algal resources of Tamil Nadu. Int. Symp. Mar. Algae Indian Ocean Region, CSMCRI, Bhavnagar (Abstract), 1979 a. Subbaramiah, R., K . Rama Rao and M.R .P. Nair. Marine a lgal resources of Lakshadweep. Int . Symp. Mar. Algae Indian Ocea" . Region, CSMCRI, Bhav .. nagar (Abstract), 1979 b. Subbaramiah. K., K. Rama Rao and P. V. Subba Rao. Seaweed resources potential of Andhra Pradesh Coast and their utilisation. Natl. Symp. Mar. Resources Techniques, Evaluation and Manogement, Andhra University. Waltair (Abstract), 1987. Thivy, F . Marine algal cultivation. Salt Res. Indu., 1 : 23-28, 1964. Umamaheswara Rao, M. The sea-weed potential of the seas around India. Proc, Symp. Living Resources, CMFRI, Cochio. 687 .. 692 (l973), 1968. Umamaheswara Rao. M. On the cultivation of Gracilaria edulis in the inshore areas around Mandapam. Curro Sci. 43 : 660·661. 1974. Umamaheswara Rao, M. AutoecoJogicaI and eeo'physiological studies on marine algae of \'isakhapatnam and Mandapam. Int . Symp. Pllycology. Un;". Madras (Abstract), 1987. Venkatesh Kumar, C. Feasibi lity sludy for manufacture of agar·agar and sodium alginate from Indian seaweeds. MBA thesis, Uni". Madras, Madras. 1. 178, 1980. 

Seaweed cultivation in India-Present and future

http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/7729/1/B034-_AQUA_CULTURE__PRODUCTIVITY_1991..pdf

Seaweed cultivation in India-Present and future

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

CMFRI Digital Repository