Kochi, Sep 25 (IANS): The Central government is looking forward to developing a sustainable economy through highly prospective seaweed cultivation, said a top Central government official, on Saturday.

Fisheries Union Secretary Jatindra Nath Swain said that at a time when climate change is increasingly posing a major threat to human life across the globe, cultivating seaweed, which is one of the natural methods to mitigate the global crisis, would help boost the economy and reduce the impact of climate crisis.

He said this while speaking at an interactive meeting with scientists of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), here.

"The CMFRI should set up a seed bank of seaweeds to popularise the practice among the coastal region as it would be an additional livelihood option as seaweed farming will play a major role in the socio-economic upliftment of traditional fishermen during this difficult time", said Swain.

He further pointed out that the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) has a special thrust for promotion of the seaweed farming.

And on the ambitious plan in the marine fisheries sector, he said that India is eying doubling the seafood export in the next five years.

"We are hopeful of achieving this target by exploring innovative ways to increase the production that will certainly upscale the country's per capita income. Technological development is crucial in this regard especially for areas such as seed production and other hatchery infrastructure for diversified mariculture activities," said Swain.