Conclusion

The vast stretches of coastal wetlands and the offshore regions that envelope Peninsular Indian subcontinent, has immense, but poorly realised potential for seaweed production. The increasing problems with conventional landbased agricultural systems are ridden with problems of varied sorts, and attractive prices for their products are seldom realized by the bulk of these coastal farmers. In this scenario the seaweed cultivation and uses promise unexplored vistas especially in the coastal scenario of Karnataka State. From the point of elevating the nutritional and economic status of the coastal communities much research work is needed on several seaweeds. Further field investigations with optimisation technquies are required to realise bio-energy production from abundantly available algae, especially of Enteromorpha spp. which grows in brackish water.