Parliament Question: Seaweed Parks

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 456 TO BE ANSWERED ON 2nd DECEMBER, 2025 Seaweed Parks 456. Smt. Kanimozhi Karunanidhi: Will the Minister of FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING be pleased to State: (a) the details of seaweed parks established or proposed under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) in the country, State-wise including Tamil Nadu; (b) the current status and expected timeline for the commencement of work on the proposed Seaweed Park under the PMMSY in Thoothukudi district; (c) the details regarding the number of people from Thoothukudi district who have been trained or engaged in pilot-scale seaweed cultivation initiatives; (d) whether the Government has formulated any plans to mitigate environmental concerns arising from the cultivation of invasive seaweed species such as Kappaphycus alvarezii in ecologically sensitive areas and if so, the details thereof; and (e) the steps taken by the Government to bridge the gap between current levels of seaweed production and the industrial demand for seaweed based raw materials? ANSWER MINISTER OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING (SHRI RAJIV RANJAN SINGH ALIAS LALAN SINGH) (a) and (b): The Department of Fisheries, Government of India is implementing a flagship scheme “Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY)” with effect from FY 2020-21 with an investment of ₹20,050 crore in all States and Union Territories including Tamil Nadu. In Tamil Nadu state, "Establishment of Multipurpose Seaweed Park" has been sanctioned under the PMMSY at a total project cost of Rs. 127.71 crore, with following components: (i) Seaweed multiplication in Hub - I Centre at Valamavur in Ramanathapuram District, (ii) Seaweed processing and value addition in Hub – II Centre at Manganur in Pudukottai District, (iii) Spoke level infrastructures in seaweed farming villages of Thoothukudi, Ramanathapuram, Pudukottai and Thanjavur Districts. Government of Tamil Nadu has informed that the civil works for Hub-I, Hub-II and Spoke level infrastructures have already been commenced and target dates for completion of Hub -I Centre is January 2026, and for Hub - II Centre is July 2026. In Thoothukudi District, Spoke level infrastructure works are being undertaken in the following villages: viz. Periasamipuram, Sippikulam, Pattinamaruthur, Vellapatti, Thoothukudi Harbour, Mullakadu with an aim to complete the works by December, 2025.(c): Government of Tamil Nadu has informed that 125 fisherwomen have been trained on seaweed value addition in Thoothukudi district under ‘Special livelihood programme for Palk-bay and Gulf of Mannar Fishermen’. The ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has informed that 159 training programmes on seaweed cultivation were conducted for over 13,500 coastal communities during last five years including over 300 beneficiaries from Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu State. The CSIR- Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI) has trained more than 50 fishers of Thoothukudi district. (d): ICAR-CMFRI has promoted cultivation of seaweed (red algae) species viz., Gracilaria edulis and Kappaphycus alvarezii under the PMMSY. As per the studies conducted by R&D Institutions such as National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM); CSMCRI and CMFRI, Kappaphycus spp. is not found to be an invasive species and it has been reported that occurrence of this seaweed did not harm the natural coral ecosystem. The Government of Tamil Nadu has also inter alia reported that commercial cultivation of Kappaphycus was started from 2005, and there was no massive invasiveness seen as apprehended. However, as a precautionary measure, vide G.O. (MS) No.229, Environment and Forests (EC-3) Department, dated 20.12.2005 the Kappaphycus was not allowed for cultivation in Gulf of Mannar region. (e): The Department of Fisheries, along with the other Ministries/Departments in the Union Government and with active support of the coastal States/UTs have taken several steps to bridge the gap between current production and demand for seaweeds, such as ‘Establishment of Multipurpose Seaweed Park’ in Tamil Nadu, providing virulent seaweed seeds to farmers, identification of suitable sites for seaweed cultivation along the 11,099 km of coastline, support to R&D institutions and entrepreneurs for pilot projects for feasibility studies, training and capacity development, support to coastal communities/beneficiaries for installation of Rafts and monolines/tubenets for seaweed cultivation, etc. Under the PMMSY, during last 5 years (2020-25) the projects worth ₹195 crore have been approved towards seaweed cultivation and its related activities. The Research Institutions have identified 384 sites covering 24,707 hectares across the coastline of India, as suitable for seaweed cultivation. Furthermore, Lakshadweep has been notified as a Seaweed Cluster, and the Mandapam Regional Centre of the ICAR- CMFRI has been notified as the Centre of Excellence for promoting seaweed farming and research activities. The ‘Guidelines for Import of Live Seaweeds into India’ have been issued on 21-10-2024. Besides, NITI Aayog has released a report titled ‘Strategy for the development of Seaweed Value Chain’ to promote seaweed cultivation in India. An Institutional mechanism has been established by the DoF, GoI in the form of an Inter- Ministerial Committee (IMC) and the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) on Seaweed Development for coordinated development of this important sector in the country. As a result of these initiatives, the seaweed production has increased from 18,890 tonnes in 2015 to 74,083 tonnes in 2024. *****