Lesson 2
How Is Kelp Farmed?
Back to: Kelp Farming 101
Hatchery Process
To farm sugar kelp, we take advantage of kelp’s natural life cycle by collecting sorus tissue from the wild and controlling the release of its meiospores in a lab environment.
Instead of releasing spores into the water column, scientists developed a system to encourage the kelp into releasing its spores in tanks and tubes so that they settle and grow on specialized string wrapped around plastic PVC spools, like those seen in the photo below. These spores settle on the string and develop into microscopic gametophytes and, eventually, juvenile sporophytes that will ultimately grow into full-sized adult kelp.
Spore Release In Hatchery
These spools are kept in tanks of filtered seawater for several weeks and monitored daily to ensure the appropriate temperature, light, and nutrients for growth. After being tended for a few weeks in the hatchery, the spools are ready to be transplanted out onto a kelp farm.
GreenWave Tip
The Hub contains an entire, separate track for folks interested in starting a kelp hatchery, which outlines this process in detail. Check out the Hatchery Curriculum here!