Mar ReCon – Kelp Farming; Assessment of seeding density, pre-harvest trimming, and environmental conditions on the performance of farmed kelp

Mariculture Research and Restoration Consortium (Mar ReCon) is a research and monitoring program designed to address the needs of the mariculture industry in the Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS) affected area including Prince William Sound, Kachemak Bay, and Kodiak Island.

The effectiveness of the current seeding densities and farm setups is linked, to some extent, to the relatively small farm sizes operating to date and prevailing environmental conditions at site. It is likely that as kelp farms increase in scale, new challenges will arise. This project assesses how different seed densities and frond trimming influences the yield of biomass, as well as determining the temperature and salinity limits for juvenile kelp sourced from parent stocks from different regions.