Sea weed farming

  • July 30, 2022
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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Sea weed farming

Subject : Geography

Section: Economic Geography

Context: The ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has done geo-referencing of 342 farming sites in the country over 24,167 hectares of seaweed cultivation.

Concept:

  • “Seaweed” is the common name for countless species of marine plants and algae that grow in the ocean as well as in rivers, lakes, and other water bodies.
  • Some seaweeds are microscopic, such as the phytoplankton that live suspended in the water column and provide the base for most marine food chains.
  • Some are enormous, like the giant kelp that grow in abundant “forests” and tower like underwater redwoods from their roots at the bottom of the sea.
  • Most are medium-sized, come in colors of red, green, brown, and black, and randomly wash up on beaches and shorelines just about everywhere.
  • They are the primitive, marine non-flowering marine algae without root, stem and leaves, play a major role in marine ecosystems.
  • Seaweeds, found mostly in the intertidal region, in shallow and deep waters of the sea and also in estuaries and backwaters.
  • The southern Gulf of Mannar’s rocky intertidal and lower intertidal regions have rich populations of several seaweed species.
  • Seaweeds exhibit highest photosynthesis efficiency due to moist conditions.
  • They contribute to about 50% of all photosynthesis in the world.
  • The global production of seaweed (comprises various marine plant species and algae) in 2022 was 35 million tonnes worth around USD 16.5 billion.

Benefits of Seaweed:

  • Seaweed is full of vitamins, minerals, & fibre.
  • They contain anti-inflammatory&anti-microbial agents.
  • They are known to process significant medicinal effects.
  • They possess powerful cancer-fighting agents.
  • They are effective binding agents (emulsifiers) & are used commercial goods as toothpaste & fruit jelly, & popular softeners (emollients) in organic cosmetics & skin-care products.

Applications of seaweed:

Health risks:

  • Rotting seaweed is a potent source of hydrogen sulfide, a highly toxic gas, and has been implicated in some incidents of apparent hydrogen-sulphide poisoning. It can cause vomiting and diarrhea.
  • The so-called “stinging seaweed” Microcoleuslyngbyaceus is a filamentous cyanobacteria which contains toxins including lyngbyatoxin-a and debromoaplysiatoxin.
  • Direct skin contact can cause seaweed dermatitis characterized by painful, burning lesions that last for days.

Seaweed in India:

About CMFRI research and contributions in sea weed cultivation :

  • Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute was established by Government of India on February 3rd1947 under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and later it joined the ICAR in 1967.
  • CMFRI has developed a unique method for estimation of fishery catch and effort data from the over 8000 km coastline called the “Stratified Multistage Random Sampling Method”. With this methodology the Institute is maintaining the National Marine Fisheries Data Centre (NMFDC).
  • The ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has done geo-referencing of 342 farming sites in the country over 24,167 hectares of seaweed cultivation.
  • These sites have the potential to produce 7 million tonnes (wet weight) of seaweed per year., as against the paltry 34,000 tonnes it produced last year, according to the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI)
  • CMFRI’s recent success includes commercial production of seeds of green and brown mussels and cultchless spat production of edible oysters with a high survival rate at Vizhinjam.
  • The government has earmarked Rs 640 crore exclusively under the Pradhan Mantri MatsyaSampada Yojana (PMMSY) to promote seaweed culture with a targeted production of more than 11.2 lakh tonnes by 2025.

Bivalve Farming: 

  • Marine bivalves include mussels, oysters and scallops. Bivalve farming is a non-conventional aquaculture practice.
  • India’s bivalve production in 2021 was 98,000 tonnes
  • More than 6,000 women self-help groups are engaging with bivalve farming under the guidance of the CMFRI
  • The CMFRI has successfully standardised the practice of Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) which enables cage farming or bivalve farming along with seaweed farming in coastal waters.
Onshore bivalve farming Offshore bivalve farming
  • Traditionally, bivalve aquaculture had largely been established in inshore areas either on the seabed or on structures fixed or floating in shallow sheltered waters
  • In this environment there have been notable negative environmental impacts. For example, farming bivalves in sheltered, poorly flushed inshore waters can result in the accumulation of waste products that pollute the seabed and reduce local biodiversity
  • Relatively new offshore aquaculture industry such as cultivating rope-grown mussels, is perceived as a more space-efficient, has a potential especially in areas where planktonic food is plentiful, water conditions including depth are suitable and likelihood for conflicts over space use is low.
  • Offshore bivalve farming is  one of the lowest environmental impact animal protein production methods available because the species feed naturally in the ocean and can be harvested with relatively low fuel requirements
Geography Sea weed farming