Evaluating Infrastructure and Seeding Methods for Scalable Bull Kelp Cultivation

Sea Quester Farms aims to further develop food-grade, commercially viable bull kelp cultivation techniques through trials conducted at our farm site near Juneau, AK. The proposed experiment aims to compare two factors: the growth of bull kelp on a surface array (tethered to the surface) versus a benthic array (tethered to the seafloor), and the growth of bull kelp on grow lines based on continuous seed spacing versus interval seed spacing. Working collaboratively with farmers at the Native Conservancy, representatives at Spruce Root, and other Sustainable Southeast Partnership communities, the project partners will disseminate the results obtained from this study. In the wild, bull kelp grows attached to rocks on the seafloor. Bull kelp does not tend to cover the seafloor like it covers a seed line, but rather, it grows in numerous small groups. The use of suspended arrays and dense seed lines have proven to be problematic and costly for commercial farms attempting to scale bull kelp production in Alaska. By spacing the growth on the seed line and using an array tether to the seafloor, we believe we can closely simulate bull kelp’s natural growing conditions.

Learn more here.