What Do Kelp Farms Look Like?

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Now that you've seen a quick overview of the methods typically

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used to seed grow and harvest. Kelp. You might

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be wondering what kelp Farms look like or what infrastructure is

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involved.

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The basic concept is pretty simple.

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It revolves around a submerged horizontal grow line

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wound with Siege string and anchored on either end. The

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grow line is kept under tension in the water and is

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held at a constant depth usually about five feet

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below the surface through the use of a series of buoys and

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sometimes weights which are attached to the grow line at

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intervals.

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Together this long line system of growlines anchor

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lines and buoys is referred to as an array.

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Here, you'll see a simplified version of a single line array.

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Generally speaking. A farm is composed of multiple arrays.

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Due to this modular design kelp Farms are

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easily scalable and can vary dramatically in size.

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Some Farms have only one or two grow lines and others have over

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a hundred.

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Size and design of the farm will vary according to

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the site constraints the species being grown and permit

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regulations.

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Startup and operational costs are closely tied to

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these factors and also can vary widely depending on

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where Farm is located and how much kelp a farmer chooses to

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plant.

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Farms may also incorporate more complex rigging systems

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which support closely spaced girl lines with fewer but

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larger anchors and buoys such as this five line

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array.

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This design is popular with experienced Farmers as they're

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able to increase their yields without expanding the area

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of their farm and some Farms are implementing much

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more complex arrays such as this category system

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that's currently being farmed near Kodiak Alaska. We're

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a matrix of tightly spaced grow lines are supported

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by 700 pound anchors at the corners of the

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array this type of array requires many precise calculations

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and Marine engineering to design and

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install.

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Ultimately, kelp farming is site-specific and a

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Farm's design will be influenced heavily by the bottom type current and

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exposure as well as the use of its surrounding Waters and

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the intended market for the kelp.

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Regardless of the array design the majority of

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gear is hidden beneath the water line and only the

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anchor buoys and smaller floatation buoys are visible from

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the surface, but all the while several feet

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below the kelp continues to grow with just the

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energy of the sun and the nutrients of the sea.