RDFSF SEAWEEDS PRODUCER COMPANY LIMITED

In their own words

SEAWEED IN TAMILNADU The Southeast Indian State of Tamil Nadu’s coastline is 1076 km long with 14 coastal districts and 15 major ports and harbours. The convergence of the Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean at India’s southern tip is the unique feature of this coast. Distinct variations are seen in the nature of substratum in the intertidal and subtidal regions. The northern coastal area has long and wide sandy beaches intermittently populated with flat rocks, boulders and stones in the lower and upper intertidal regions, experiencing severe surf energy. Species belonging to the genera Ulva, Chaetomorpha, Bryopsis and Grateloupia inhabit the rocks and boulders. The central Tamil Nadu coast includes Palk Bay, which falls within the Cauvery deltaic region. The region’s muddy intertidal and subtidal coast is due to the confluence of many rivers flowing to the sea. Several species of Gracilaria, including G. edulis, G. foliifera, G. verrucosa and G. salicornia are dominant and commercially harvested in this region. The Gulf of Mannar, located in the southern part of Tamil Nadu, has a rich diversity from all three seaweed groups. Intertidal and subtidal rocks extend up to 1 m deep and they support abundant growth of Sargassum, Acanthophora and Hypnea species. The subtidal coral reefs are populated with Gelidiella, Turbinaria and Sargassum species. The southern Gulf of Mannar’s rocky intertidal and lower intertidal regions maintain rich populations of several Ulva species. Ulva has been collected from all 20 Gulf of Mannar islands supporting high seaweed diversity with potential economic importance. Studies carried out to determine seaweed diversity from 42 Indian coastal stations and 14 Gulf of Mannar islands showed a total of 282 seaweed species (Anon 2012). Among these, 80 species were Chlorophyta, 56 species were Phaeophyceae and 146 species were Rhodophyta. The genus Caulerpa was represented by the highest number of species (24) among the green algae, followed by Codium with seven species and Halimeda and Ulva with six species each. The genera Acrosiphonia, Anastomonas, Boergesenia, Dictyosphaeria, Neomreis, Microdictyon, Struvea, Valonia and Valoniopsis have a single species each. In brown algae, the genus Sargassum had the greatest number of species (15) followed by Dictyota with 10 species and Padina with seven species. The genera Turbinaria, Dictyopteris and Chnoospora had three species each and the genera Ectocarpus, Hormophysa, Hydroclathrus, Iyengaria, Rosenvingea and Zonaria were each represented by a single species. Among the red algae, the genus Gracilaria represented the highest number of species (20) while the genus Laurencia had 12 species. Other red algal genera found include seven species of Hypnea, six species of Grateloupia and several genera that were represented by a single species including: Asparagopsis, Bostrichia, Botryocladia, Chondrococcus, Chondrocanthus, Dasya, Dictyurus, Digenea, Enantiocladia, Griffithesia, Halichrysis, Helminthocladia, Neurymenia, Nitophyllum, Peyssonnelia, Tenaciphyllum and Wrangelia (Anon 2012). Among the above species agar-yielding red seaweeds, such as Gelidiella acerosa and Gracilaria edulis, and algin yielding brown seaweeds species such as Sargassum and Turbineria are gathered by the fisherwomen in Ramanathapuram district. Also cultivation of exotic species Kappaphycus alvarezii is also carried out by the fisherwomen of 6 districts viz Tuticorin, Ramanathapuram, Puthukkottai, Thanjavur, Thiruvarur and Nagappattinam

Written by the company on its public Startup India profile. Not verified by us.