ABSTRACT
Seaweeds grow abundantly along the Tamil Nadu and Gujarat coasts and around Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar islands. There are also rich seaweed beds around Mumbai, Ratnagiri, Goa, Karwar, Varkala, Vizhinjam and Pulicat in Tamil Nadu and Chilka in Orissa. The net farming method has the advantage of intensive production because more plants can be grown in a given area. It is of three types, namely: the floating bamboo method, the mangrove stakes and net method and tubular net method. The most common practice of farmers is to harvest the whole plant, rather than prune the plant. Harvested seaweeds are placed in bamboo baskets in the banca then brought to the farmhouse drying station. Production of good quality agar and carageenan and development of appropriate marketing system have to be taken up as priority programmes for the development seaweed industries in India.
