Paradip: Seaweed cultivation has opened a new source of livelihood for fishermen in Erasama block of Jagatsinghpur district with its cultivation achieving success at Jatadhar sea mouth near Noliasahi.
According to reports, the success in seaweed cultivation has spread cheers as about 10-15 grams of seaweeds which was tied in a bundle and put into the sea have grown to the size of 1 to 1.5 kg each within a period of 45 days at Jatadhar mouth.
The success has opened a floodgate of opportunities for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food processing industries and various start-ups. Seaweed is also used in preparation of certain medicines.
This was stated here by Dr Reeta Jayshankar, the nodal officer of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) overseeing its cultivation. Seaweed is harvested after 45 days.
Later, it is soaked in salt water and subsequently dried under sun. The algae is then soaked in fresh water and packed for sale once its moisture content reduces to 35 per cent.
The current market price of 1 kg of seaweed is Rs 50,000. Seaweed cultivation was first started in the coastal part of the state at eight places in Ganjam, Puri, Balasore and Jagatsinghpur districts. The cultivation taken up in Balasore is as good as Jatadhar sea mouth in Jagatsinghpur, she said.
The success achieved in seaweed cultivation in the above areas has opened opportunities for the lower income group, particularly the fishermen in the state. The cultivation of seaweeds will help them earn additional income.
Reports said the demand for seaweed is increasing worldwide as its extracts are widely used in toothpaste, ice-cream, textile printing, tooth filling, cosmetics, tissue culture, plywood, packaging and several other industries.
Bio fuel can be made from it for which the government imports seaweeds from abroad. While investment in seaweed cultivation is less, profits are high, Dr Reeta Jayshankar said.
Seaweed cultivation also helps in combating global warming, she added. Notably, seaweed farming was taken up at Mandapam near Rameswar in Tamil Nadu 10 years back.
Following its success, a huge quantity of the algae is harvested there. Fishermen earn Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 per month by selling seaweed.
Later, its cultivation was taken up in Odisha which has a vast coastline. Accordingly, the CMFRI and the state fisheries department have started cultivation in the coastal regions of the state.
Initially, the cultivation of seaweed was taken up on an experimental basis at Jatadhar sea mouth in Erasama and at Mahanadi sea mouth near the Paradip fishing jetty.
However, the growth of the seaweeds was not that impressive in Paradip, while it was quite heartening in Jatadhar mouth.
The nodal officer said that the reason behind the failure in cultivation in Paradip is that the undercurrent is rather strong in the sea besides the fact that the movement of fishing trawlers in the area is quite high.
When contacted, marine fishery officer Manoranjan Mohapatra too said that fishermen can make handsome earnings by taking up seaweed cultivation.
PNN