Indy Algy

Back in 2003, the ISW posted about the controversy surrounding PepsiCo's attempts to promote farming of the red marine alga Kappaphycus alvarezii in India. Now, as posted over at Indiannotion, Science Magazine is reporting that the alga has spread from where it is being cultivated, invading Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park in the Bay of Bengal. At this point it remains unclear as to how the alga got there, since both PepsiCo and the Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (which had been testing cultivation of the alga) are denying responsibility. While PepsiCo is volunteering funds to monitor and remove the algae from the marine reserve, scientists are concerned it may already be too late.

Interested readers will want to download the original research article from the May 2008 issue of the journal Current Science.

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