The Hindu Business Line : Symposium on seaweeds in Kochi

SEAWEEDS 2004, a three-day national symposium and exposition organised by the Seaweed Research and Utilisation Association of India, Mandapam, in collaboration with the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) will be held here from Thursday.

Dr Mohan Joseph Modayil, Director, CMFRI, said that the problems faced by the Indian seaweed industries, seaweed export policy and legal issues involved in seaweed culture and utilisation will be discussed in the symposium, which will play a significant role in identifying the priority areas for the future R&D activities on seaweed resources, culture and utilisation in the country.

Seaweeds or marine algae are non-flowering marine plants without true roots, stems and leaves. They are one of the commercially important marine living renewable resources. They contain different vitamins, minerals, trace elements, protein, iodine and bioactive substances. They are the only source for the production of phytochemicals such as agar (china grass), carrageenan and algin.

These phytochemicals are used as gelling, stabilising and thickening agents in food, pharmaceutical, confectionary, dairy, textiles, paper, paint, varnish industries etc.

Seaweeds are also used as animal food and fertiliser and contribute to the primary production of the sea. Hence seaweed beds are considered to be highly productive and dynamic ecosystem. They act as breeding, nursing and feeding grounds for many epiphytic fauna.

A variety of green, brown, red and blue green algae occurs in large quantities along the southern coast of Tamil Nadu from Mandapam to Kanyakumari, Gulf of Mannar Islands, Gujarat coast, Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar, Mumbai, Ratnagiri, Goa, Karwar, Varkala, Vizhinjam, Visakhapatnam, Chilka, Pulikat lake and in the estuaries and backwaters of different maritime states in the country.