As India chalks out big plans for seaweed cultivation on its long coastline to ensure employment and food security, a team of researchers has suggested that establishing such nutrition-rich marine plants’ farms near river estuaries can also help combat marine pollution as it significantly reduce nitrogen concentrations in the river and prevent environmental nuisance in streams and oceans.
The study by researchers of Tel Aviv University and Berkeley University is published in Communications Biology. The study hold importance for India which is aiming to increase seaweed production in the country to 11.5 lakh tonnes from the current production levels of 2,500 tonnes in the next five years under its flagship Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).
The global researchers arrived at such a conclusion after they built a model for growing Mediterranean stalk kelp near the Alexander River estuary, in Israel, hundreds of metres from the open sea. The river was chosen because it discharges polluting nitrogen from nearby upstream fields and settlements into the Mediterranean. Data for the model were collected over two years from controlled cultivation studies.
According to experts, nitrogen is a necessary fertiliser for agriculture, but once it reaches the ocean, it disperses randomly, damaging various ecosystems.
Professor Alexander Golberg from Tel Aviv University, explained that “We are developing technologies for growing seaweed in the ocean in order to set carbon and extract various substances from them, such as proteins and starches, in order to produce the agricultural produce in the ocean as well.
“In this study, we showed that if seaweed is grown according to the model we developed, in close proximity to streams and rivers’ estuaries, they can absorb the nitrogen to conform to environmental standards and prevent its dispersal in water and thus neutralise environmental pollution.”
Our model allows marine farmers, as well as government and environmental bodies, to know, in advance, what the impact will be and what the products of a large seaweed farm will be – before setting up the actual farm, added Miron Zollman, lead author and scientist from Tel Aviv University.
For its part, India is already eyeing to cash in on the huge potential of seaweed farming and has launched various seaweed cultivation plans in several coastal states, aiming to provide employment to 6-7 lakh people, particularly women.
“Recognizing the potential of the sector, the government has developed a roadmap to establish a seaweed processing industry and matching seaweed cultivation,” Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying said here after releasing a booklet providing glimpse of the challenges and opportunities in the ‘Seaweed Farming Entrepreneurship by Cooperatives’ as highlighted by a global webinar on “Seaweed Business by Cooperatives” held early this year as a part of government’s efforts to create awareness and sensitize the sector.
Sundeep Nayak, Managing Director, National Co-operative Development Corporation (NCDC), said that the government is very serious about the promotion of seaweed cultivation as it holds tremendous business potential. Known as ‘miracle plants of sea’, seaweeds can be used for medicine, fertilizer, animal feed and food and in many other sectors, he added.