Mariculture is a sector of aquaculture that involves the rearing of aquatic organisms under controlled or semi-controlled conditions in coastal and offshore waters. Mariculture activities such as Seaweed culture, Open Sea Cage culture, have been successfully taken up by the State as alternate livelihood measures to the coastal fisherfolk.
The Centre for Aquaculture Research and Development (CARD), a registered society under the Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare Department has set up a Marine Finfish Seed Rearing Centre at Mandapam in Ramanathapuram District in order to supply marine fish seeds to the marine cage culture. Further, subsidy assistance has been extended to fish farmers for the establishment of two marine finfish nursery rearing units at a total cost of Rs.30 lakh under PMMSY at Mayiladuthurai and Ramanathapuram Districts respectively which are currently rearing Sea bass seeds on commercial basis.
Seaweed culture is a potential alternative livelihood activity for coastal fisherfolk particularly for fisherwomen. Seaweeds are valuable for their high nutritional content, and diverse uses in industries like food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, agriculture, and bioenergy.
Tamil Nadu has vast potential for seaweed farming, since it has suitable coastal area with suitable climatic condition. Fisher folk of Tamil Nadu are engaged in natural collection of seaweed for more than 50 years. Kappaphychus alvarezii was introduced in Tamil Nadu in the year 1995 and the commercial farming of Kappaphychus started in the year 2000. Many fisher folk, particularly fisherwomen took up Kappaphychus farming as an alternative and additional income source.About 2000 families are involved in seaweed farming in 7 Districts namely Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Pudukkottai, Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi and Kanniyakumari.
Tamil Nadu is the major producer of seaweeds in India. Present production level of Kappaphychus is about 13,500 to 16,500 MT/annum. There are about 20 seaweed processing companies are operating in Tamil Nadu which depends on raw material from Tamil Nadu. From the year 2000 to 2010, seaweed farming sector has grown rapidly, as the growth rate of Kappaphychus was 5 to 6 times. In this context, the Government of Tamil Nadu is also supporting seaweed farmers through supply of inputs under various schemes. Rs.3.15 crore has been provided to 2,609 coastal fisher folk for procurement of 19,575 monolines and rafts for seaweed cultivation.
In order to tap the seaweed potential of the State, the Government have accorded administrative sanction for an amount of Rs.127.71 crore for the Establishment of Multipurpose Seaweed Park at Ramanathapuram and Pudukkottai Districts of Tamil Nadu. This project consist of components such as (i) Hub I: Seaweed Production park at Valamavur in Ramanathapuram District, (ii) Hub II: Seaweed Processing Park at Gandarvakottai in Pudukkottai District (iii) Spoke level-I and Spoke level-II infrastructures in the villages with higher seaweed potential.
The present demand for seaweed in Tamil Nadu is about 1,15,150 MT. However, the actual estimated production is only 21,982 MT. The proposed Multipurpose Seaweed Park will increase the production through import of virulent seaweed material from foreign countries, which will be multiplied and supplied to the farmers. A foreign expert consultant will be engaged for the import of seaweed through MPEDA-RGCA. To carry out the seaweed production, Fish Farmers Producers Organisation (FFPO) will be formed in the coastal Districts through Cluster Based Business Organisation (CBBO). Through this project, 49,000 MT of seaweed will be produced in 3 years and this will provide employment for about 9,000 people.
The State of Tamil Nadu is poised for the growth of a unique modern seaweed hub on par with international standards by attracting investors, producers, marketers and making Tamil Nadu as a one stop destination.
Open sea cage culture in Tamil Nadu refers to the practice of farming marine species such as finfish and shellfish, in large floating cages that are placed in open sea or offshore waters. This is a sustainable method for growing high-value fish species, with minimal environmental impact. Suitable commercially important fish species for open sea cage farming are Cobia, Sea Bass, Pompano and Lobsters.
Under various Government schemes, 422 cages have been distributed to coastal fisher folk at a project cost of Rs.18.33 crore for undertaking open sea cage culture. During the year 2024-25, 7 Open sea cages to marine fisher folk at a cost of Rs. 0.35 crore will be provided.
Marine fishery resources are fast declining particularly in the near shore areas where the fishing pressure is maximum. In order to ensure sustainable fishery resources to traditional fisher folk in nearshore area, ranching of ecologically important high value finfish and shellfish will be done in the near shore areas in order to replenish the fishery stock. All along the Tamil Nadu coast, the Department of Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare have deployed 327 artificial reefs in about 180 coastal villages to ensure sustainable fishery resources to traditional fishermen. Ranching of economically important marine fish seeds will be undertaken in the locations where the artificial reefs have been deployed in the Sea ranching programme during the year 2024-25. About 10 lakh seeds of various species of finfish and shellfish will be ranched under the Sea ranching programme at a cost of Rs. 3.00 crore.
