Abstract

                                Marine macro algae, popularly known as seaweeds, are one of the most important marine natural resources and used as raw material for the production of phytochemicals, food products and in various industries. More than 20,000 seaweeds are distributed throughout the world, of which only 221 (1.1%) are commercially utilized, which includes 145 species for food and 110 species for phycocolloid production (Sahoo, 2000). During our present work, a comprehensive survey of the Kerala coast have been carried out between 2011-2015 and a total of 147 taxa of seaweeds including 42 economically important species have been enumerated from Kerala coast. The economic prospects of seaweed resources of Kerala are discussed in the present study in order to highlight the potentiality of these resources for future demands.

Key words : Seaweeds, Kerala coast, Economic, Resources