Growth and biofouling in kelp aquaculture ( Saccharina latissima ): the effect of location and wave exposure
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Growth and biofouling in kelp aquaculture (Saccharina latissima) : the effect of location and wave exposure Wouter Visch 1,2
&
Göran M. Nylund 1 & Henrik Pavia 1
Received: 4 November 2019 / Revised and accepted: 2 July 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Seaweed aquaculture is receiving increasing attention for food and non-food applications in Europe, where it is still an emerging industry. The cultivation of seaweeds in the sea is attractive as it does not compete with agricultural crops for land and freshwater, whilst generating high yearly biomass yield. The selection of suitable cultivation sites in coastal waters is essential for the sustainable establishment and further development of seaweed aquaculture in Europe. Here, we investigate the effects of wave exposure and geographic location on growth and biofouling of kelp (Saccharina latissima), using a transplantation experiment along the Swedish west coast. Biofouling of kelp decreased with increased wave exposure, from 10 and 6% coverage at sheltered and moderately exposed locations, respectively, to 3% at exposed locations. Growth, measured as blade surface area, generally increased with decreased wave exposure, with approximately 40% less growth at exposed locations compared to sheltered or moderately exposed location. We identified that there is large spatial variation in growth and fouling of the seaweed biomass at the selected farm sites, with significant differences from the km-scale to the m-scale. In addition, exposure level affected the tissue composition, with a high carbon, but low nitrogen and water content at exposed locations compared to moderate and sheltered sites. Isotope signatures (i.e. δ13C and δ15N) also differed between exposure levels. Together, these results indicate that wave exposure is an important factor to consider in site selection for both yield as well as quality of the seaweed biomass for future kelp farms. Keywords Aquaculture . Biofouling . Biomass yield . Phaeophyta . Saccharina latissima . Seaweed farming . Wave exposure
Introduction There is a growing interest in seaweed cultivation for food and non-food applications (Holdt and Kraan 2011). Current biomass production for food applications is mainly based on agriculture on land; however, crop yield trends are predicted to be insufficient to reach the double global crop production needed by 2050 to meet FAO projections for food demands (Ray et al. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-020-02201-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Wouter Visch [email protected] 1
Department of Marine Sciences – Tjärnö Marine Laboratory, University of Gothenburg, SE-45296 Strömstad, Sweden
2
Present address: Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, 20 Castray Esplanade, Battery Point, Hobart 7004, Australia
2013). Contrary to land-based agriculture, there is no need for arable land, fresh water, fertilizers and pesticides for the cultivation of s
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