Treasures in the shallows: India's coastline rich in high-value seaweeds

The government's goal is to achieve a seaweed production level of one million tonnes by 2025 through higher harvesting from natural sources, and better captive cultivation

Shallow waters along India’s vast coastline of over 7,516 kilometres are bestowed with copious resources of high-value and multi-utility seaweeds, which have a sizable, and steadily growing, demand in the domestic and export markets. Unfortunately, only a minuscule fraction of these renewable resources is currently being gainfully exploited. But, thankfully, captive cultivation of seaweeds is gradually expanding to cater to the specific needs of seaweed-utilising industries in the food-processing, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and other sectors. The Centre and the governments of several coastal states, notably those of Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala, are incentivising seaweed farming to augment