CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS OF SEAWEED FARMING IN ANDAMAN ISLANDS

The commercial seaweed markets have reached $4.4billon in 2017 and expected to grow twice as much as the current rate on a yearly basis in the coming years. The seaweed industries like food, personal care products, pharmaceutical products, fertilizers, animal feed etc majorly import seaweeds from China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and US. While most of the seaweed biomass is harvested from nature, considerable quantity is also derived from farming especially from Asian countries like China, leading at present. Seaweed research and farming have gained momentum in India in the recent years; however the overall contribution to world forum is almost negligible. There are several potential sites in India which could be ideal for extensive seaweed farming, one such major target is the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI) which is a group of 836 Islands including Islets and rocky outcrops. ANI is one the world's biodiversity hotspot that inhabitats extensive coral reef, mangrove, seagrass beds, seaweeds, sandy beaches, rocky ecosystems; characterized with rocky and sandy substratum, innumerous bays and creeks, passages between islands provide ideal conditions for the growth of marine organism including seaweeds. ANI located East of India bordering Andaman Sea and close to many seaweed consuming South East Asian countries like Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia etc. More than 200 species of seaweeds are found in the coastal regions of ANI which are mostly dominated by alginophytes. The preliminary survey during 2018-19 on biodiversity of seaweeds in South Andaman yielded more than 50 species which included green, red and brown seaweeds. The seaweeds genera recorded includes Gracilaria, Gelidiella, Caulerpa,, Padina, Turbinaria, Sargassum, Hormophysa, Halimeda, Dictyosphaeria, Dictiyota, Neomeris, Galaxaura, Acanthopora, Acetabularia, Codium,, Ulva, Chaetomorpha, etc; among them some are commercially cultivable. Seaweed culture initiatives were undertaken using Gracilaria and Acanthophora species at North Bay, Port Blair during the months between November 2018 and February 2019. The main aim was to initiate culture of commercially important seaweeds in floating bamboo raft for expanding to commercial scale culture, transfer of localized technology to islanders and startups in ANI. The objectives are to Survey of sites for possible seaweed farming, Initiatives / trial culture of seaweed culture in bamboo rafts and Seaweed seed bank development for farming. The main challenges are non-availability of preferred seed material in required quantity, long rainy seasons with decreasing salinity in the coastal areas, increasing turbidity, increasing sea surface temperature, etc.  However there are prospects for extensive development of seaweed culture in the islands and promoting startup companies based on seaweed derived products like biostimulant, biofertiliser, hydrocolloids, cosmetics etc. Further various challenges, prospects and opportunities are discussed in detail.