The increasing global population and human activities have negatively impacted the natural environment that leads to shortage of bioresources for the growing population. The demand for seaweed biomass for food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and agro-industries has been steadily increasing during the last decade. Seaweed production has shown enormous ability to have adequate biomass to be converted into a variety of goods for rising industries. The trend is expected to continue in the future as new uses are discovered and the ever-increasing human population needs healthy products and clean energy expand beyond land-based resources. The ecological importance of seaweed farming includes carbon dioxide (CO2) fixation, which provides solution for global warming and ocean acidification. Further, seaweed farming minimizes the eutrophication by extracting surplus nutrients from coastal water during cultivation and creates a habitat for specific aquatic species. Hence this chapter reviews and discusses the current status, ecological and socio-economic importance of seaweed farming.
Elsevier, Natural Resources Conservation and Advances for Sustainability, 2022, Pages 493-501
