World Aquaculture 2025 India

November 10 - 13, 2025

Hyderabad, India

GEOSPATIAL TECHNIQUES FOR DELINEATING SEAWEED FARMING POTENTIAL: A REMOTE SENSING AND GIS APPROACH IN THE INDIAN EEZ

Sandra M.P*, Nimit Kumar, Shubham Subhash Pole, Nagaraja Kumar M ,

and T. M Balakrishnan Nair

 

Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS)

(Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India)

“Ocean Valley” ,  Pragati Nagar, Nizampet ,  Hyderabad – 500090

mp.sandra-p@incois.gov.in



Mariculture envisions the potential and sustainable use of marine resources to enhance livelihoods and support marine ecosystem conservation and restoration. Seaweeds, also known as marine macro algae, are considered as the ocean’s nutritional powerhouse and are vital for sustainable development. They function as a carbon sink in along with sustaining other marine habitats, which include marine plants and animals. There are plenty of seaweed natural hotspots in India. Seaweed culture is additionally supported throughout India’s coast in recognition of its commercial, cultural, & economic value. Due to the rising demand, there is an immense requirement for conserving the natural seaweed bed and cultivation techniques should be harmonized accordingly. Mapping the suitability of seaweed sites using satellite remote sensing enabled by a GIS (Geographic Information System) is one such endeavour. This study identified potential seaweed cultivation zones along the Indian coast by remotely sensing environmental parameters like Sea Surface Temperature (SST), Sea Surface Salinity (SSS), Dissolved Oxygen, Water clarity, pH, Chlorophyll (Chl ), Nutrients (Phosphate & Nitrate), Wind, Wave, Depth, etc. A weighted overlay analysis was done to classify regions as Highly, Moderately, or Not Suitable based on the optimal range of these environmental parameters required for the seaweed growth using the GIS Software. The present study resulted the mapping of Suitable Seaweed growing areas along the coasts  within the Indian EEZ on March 2022, March 2023 and May 2023. GIS study versus validation with literature survey found High and Moderate zones from Gujarat (2), Maharashtra (4), Karnataka (3), Kerala (2), Tamil Nadu South (6), Tamil Nadu North (3), Andhra Pradesh South (4) and Andhra Pradesh North (2) respectively.  Therefore, t his research promotes evidence-based planning and sustained marine resource utilization by showcasing the prospect of integrating remote sensing and GIS techniques to locate economically and ecologically feasible  seaweed cultivable locations in the Indian EEZ.