The CSIR Seaweed Mission Seaweeds are marine macroalgae-red, green and brown that grow along coastlines and in shallow waters across the world's oceans. They are ubiquitous components of marine ecosystems and play a vital ecological role. Globally, seaweed resources are increasingly recognised as valuable commercial commodities, particularly in East and South-East Asia, where they support thriving industries and coastal livelihoods. Beyond their economic potential, seaweeds provide important environmental services. They form the foundation of marine food webs, absorb excess nutrients from coastal waters, sequester carbon, and help mitigate ocean acidification. Global seaweed production currently exceeds 36 million metric tonnes annually and is valued at approximately USD 18 billion. Despite its extensive coastline and rich marine biodiversity, India's contribution to this rapidly growing sector remains modest. Recognising this untapped opportunity, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) launched the Seaweed Mission in 2019. The mission seeks to establish a sustainable seaweed-based economy by addressing critical challenges in cultivation, genetic improvement, industrial processing and high-value bioprospecting. India is home to more than 800 species of seaweeds distributed across over 11,000 kilometres of coastline. The country also has nearly 171 million people living in 70 coastal districts, including around four million fishermen residing in over 3,200 fishing villages. The mission aims to improve the livelihoods of these coastal communities through innovative technologies in seaweed cultivation, processing and value addition. Mapping India's Seaweed Potential Although India possesses abundant marine resources and scientific expertise, large-scale seaweed cultivation has been constrained by regulatory challenges and the ecological complexity of the coastline. To address these gaps, CSIR undertook a comprehensive nationwide pre-feasibility assessment of seaweed cultivation potential. More than 250 coastal locations, including the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep, were surveyed. Based on biological, geomorphological and socio-economic criteria, detailed studies were conducted at over 100 sites, leading to the identification of more than 75 locations suitable for commercial seaweed farming. An equally important component of this exercise was community engagement. Local fishermen were trained in cultivation techniques, provided hands-on demonstrations and sensitised to the economic opportunities offered by seaweed farming. These efforts are laying the foundation for sustainable livelihood models across India's coastal regions. Building the Foundation: Seaweed Seed Technology One of the major constraints facing the seaweed industry is the limited availability of quality planting material. Commercially important species such as Kappaphycus and Gracilaria often have restricted natural distribution and inadequate seed supply, limiting large-scale cultivation. To overcome this challenge, CSIR has developed artificial seedling production technologies based on micropropagation and clonal propagation methods. The country's first seaweed seed production facility has been established at the Marine Algal Station, a field laboratory of CSIR-CSMCRI at Mandapam, Tamil Nadu. For the first time in India, this technology has been scaled up through a public-private partnership supported under a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. The innovation has also been recognised among the Top 100 Innovations of India in the India Innovation Yearbook 2023. This technology forms the basis of Hub-I of India's Seaweed Park, where millions of high-quality planting materials will be produced annually. At the same time, researchers are developing improved non-GMO variants of commercially important seaweeds with enhanced growth rates and greater resilience to environmental stresses, thereby strengthening the genetic foundation of the industry. Seaweed for Nutrition and Food Security India's population is expected to approach 1.7 billion by 2050. Although significant progress has been made in reducing hunger and malnutrition, nutritional security remains a challenge. With a large proportion of the population following vegetarian diets, seaweeds offer a sustainable source of essential nutrients, including high-quality proteins, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. Recognising this potential, CSIR has developed a range of value-added food products from seaweed biomass. These include ready-to-eat snacks, bakery products, pasta, nutritional bars and beverages, demonstrating how marine resources can contribute to improved nutrition and food diversification. Transforming Agriculture through Seaweed Biostimulants Seaweed-derived biostimulants are emerging as an important tool for sustainable agriculture. However, scientific understanding of their active compounds, storage stability and interactions with soil microbiomes remains limited.The CSIR Seaweed Mission is addressing these gaps through the development of stable, high-performance and Fertiliser Control Order (FCO)- compliant biostimulant formulations from indigenous seaweed resources. Indigenous seaweed resources are being harnessed to develop scalable, environmentally sustainable solutions for climate-resilient agriculture. Advanced metabolomic and multi-omics approaches are being employed to unravel the mechanisms underlying seaweed biostimulant efficacy. Research is focused on identifying bioactive molecules, understanding plant-microbe interactions and optimising formulations for different crops and agro-climatic conditions. Studies have demonstrated the importance of preservation and storage conditions in maintaining product stability and efficacy. The mission aims to deliver commercial biostimulant products benchmarked against global standards while also supporting hydroponic and biotechnology applications. Through multi-location field trials, these innovations are expected to promote wider adoption of sustainable agricultural practices and enhance crop productivity. Towards a Circular Bioeconomy Building on its expertise, CSIR has developed a zero-waste process for producing liquid seaweed plant biostimulants from abundant brown seaweeds such as Sargassum wightii, Sargassum swartzii and Sargassum tenerrimum. The process generates valuable co-products including phycocolloids, biodegradable films, cellulose and biochar, ensuring complete utilisation of biomass. The resulting liquid biostimulants act as effective plant growth promoters while reducing dependence on chemical fertilisers. CSIR has also developed biodegradable films derived from seaweed-based phycocolloids as sustainable alternatives to conventional plastic packaging. Another innovation involves extracting nutrient-rich sap from Kappaphycus alvarezii, with the residual biomass subsequently processed for kappa carrageenan production. Efforts are currently underway to scale up these technologies and develop standardised engineering packages that will enable industries and MSMEs to process commercial seaweed biomass into high-value products such as carrageenan, agar and alginate. Researchers are also exploring seaweed extracts as environmentally friendly alternatives to chemical fungicides. Through laboratory and field studies, these extracts are being evaluated for their ability to enhance natural defence mechanisms in economically important crops. Unlocking Marine Bioactives Seaweeds are rich sources of bioactive compounds with applications in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, cosmetics and healthcare products. Their diverse biological activities present significant opportunities for new product development. Under the mission, scientists are investigating novel molecules from seaweeds and undertaking detailed studies on their biological efficacy, mechanisms of action and therapeutic potential. Research on dolabellane-based compounds has resulted in the synthesis of around 25 analogues, some of which have shown promising anti-cancer activity. Bioactive compounds have also been isolated from species such as Stoechospermum marginatum, Gracilaria edulis and Dictyota dichotoma, opening new avenues for drug discovery and biomedical applications. Ensuring Environmental Sustainability Large-scale seaweed cultivation offers enormous opportunities for industrial growth and carbon sequestration. However, sustainable expansion requires careful evaluation of potential impacts on coral reefs, seagrass meadows and other marine ecosystems. The mission is therefore undertaking detailed environmental assessments, including studies on carbon dynamics, species-specific physiological responses and ecological interactions. These efforts will support the development of science-based guidelines for environmentally responsible seaweed farming. Strengthening Innovation and Intellectual Property The Seaweed Mission is supported by a dedicated intellectual property strategy that provides real-time IP intelligence to researchers. This facilitates patent filing, technology protection and commercialisation, while strengthening the quality and strategic positioning of CSIR's innovations. Towards India's Blue Economy The CSIR Seaweed Mission is successfully transforming seaweed from a largely underutilised natural resource into a structured industrial sector. By integrating science, technology, entrepreneurship and community participation, it is laying the foundation for India's Blue Economy and maritime self-reliance. CSIR has also played a key role in shaping national policy. Its scientific inputs contributed significantly to the NITI Aayog report "Strategy for the Development of Seaweed Value Chain" (June 2024), which provides a comprehensive roadmap for sustainable seaweed cultivation, processing and commercialisation in India. Through livelihood generation, value addition, industrial innovation and environmental sustainability, the mission is creating new opportunities for coastal communities while strengthening India's self-reliance in seaweed-derived products and technologies. From ocean to opportunity, the CSIR Seaweed Mission demonstrates how science-led innovation can unlock the immense potential of marine resources and contribute meaningfully to the vision of Viksit Bharat. This article is written by Shri S Kannan, Mission Director, CSIR, Seaweed Mission Shri Vaibhav Mantri, Principal Investigator, CSIR Seaweed Mission Shri Arup Ghose, Director, CSIR-CSMCRI Dr N Kalaiselvi, Director General, CSIR, Secretary, DSIR [Published in DREAM 2047 Major National Scientific Missions & Programmes (June-July 2026 / Vol. 06) : A magazine by Department of Science & Technology, GoI]