India sets 9.7 million tonne seaweed target

Published Jul 28, 2022

Tridge summary

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research - Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (ICAR-CMFRI) has identified 342 additional sites for seaweed farming, potentially producing 9.7 million tonnes of seaweed annually. India is encouraging seaweed farming to boost its global production, which is currently only 35 million tonnes. The government has allocated Rs. 640 crore to promote seaweed culture, aiming to produce over 11.2 lakh tonnes by 2025. ICAR-CMFRI has developed a technology for integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA), enabling mixed farming of seaweed, cage farming, and bivalve farming. The meeting also underscored the potential of bivalve farming, with over 6,000 women self-help groups engaging in the activity.

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Original content

Stressing the need for upscaling seaweed farming, Dr A Gopalakrishnan, director of ICAR-CMFRI, said that the institute has done georeferencing of 342 additional suitable farming sites over 24,167 ha with a production potential of 9.7 million tonnes (wet weight) per year. He was speaking at a National Campaign on non-conventional aquaculture systems organised by the CMFRI as part of the Azadi Ka Amirt Mahotsav. “While referring to the global production that is 35 million tonnes worth 16.5 billion dollars in 2022 so far, India is far behind in terms of seaweed production,” he added. Citing that the country is taking all measures to boost its production, Dr Gopalakrishnan pointed out that the government earmarked Rs. 640 crore exclusively to promote seaweed culture with a targeted production of more than 11.2 lakh (1.12 million) tonnes by 2025, in the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY). “The CMFRI has successfully standardised the practice of integrated multi-trophic ...

Source: Thefishsite