Chinese
aquaculture has employed a balanced ecosystem approach for both fresh and
brackish water aquacultures for several thousand years. Utilising species that
feed at different levels of the food web has permitted China to have the largest
aquaculture production in the world. This production has proved to be
sustainable in the long run because there is balance in this system. Chilika
lake, situated on the East Coast of Indian peninsula is one of the largest
brackish water wet land ecosystem in Asia. The lake covers an area of 917 square
kilometre and opens to the Bay of Bengal through a narrow mouth. Chilika has an
interesting ecology with several small islands, some of which are inhabited by
local people. Amongst Chilika's
various flora and fauna, marine algae forms an interesting group of plants.
During our three years of investigations, we reported 13 species of
seaweed’s i.e. Enteromorpha compressea, Enteromorpha
intestinalis, Ulva fasciata, Ulva lactuca, Chaetomorpha linum, Cladophora
glomerata forma. Callicoma, Pithophora oedogonium, Gracilaria verrucosa,
Gracilariopsis megaspora, Grateloupia filicina var. luxurians, Ceramium
diaphanum var. elegans, Polysiphonia sertularioides, Polysiphonia subtilissima from
different parts of the lake, out of which Gracilaria
verrucosa, Gracilariopsis megaspora and Grateloupia
filicina are of great significance. While the first two taxa are important
source of agar, Grateloupia filicina is
edible and source of crrageenan. These
phycocolloids have several industrial applications, which includes toothpaste,
ice cream, tomato ketchup, chocolate, milk shakes, cosmetics, medicine etc.
These seaweeds not only act as a breeding ground for prawns and fish but also
remove the extra nitrogen and carbon from parts of the lake, which has damaged
the lake ecology to some extent. As a strategy for the sustainable management of
the lake we recommend seaweed cultivation at some parts of the lake. Such types
of extractive and integrated aquaculture will not only maintain the ecosystem of
the lake but will also provide large-scale employment to the local people.
Address:
Marine Biotechnology Laboratory
Department of Botany, University of Delhi
Delhi 110 007.India
Phone No: 91-11-7666792
E-Mail: nivedita_sahu@rediffmail.com
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