Creating opportunities for Bull Kelp aquaculture

Bull kelp (Durvillaea spp.) is a strong option for offshore cultivation due to its ability to tolerate high wave energy and produce high levels of alginates. However, basic biological information required for its cultivation (reproduction, early lifecycle development and growth, hatchery methods and growout requirements) are not known which represents a significant knowledge gap for developing a bull kelp aquaculture industry.

This project will fill this knowledge gap. Once these hatchery methods are optimised it will provide the basis to develop bull kelp cultivation as part of the BE CRC and the emerging Australasian seaweed industry.

This March our Seaweeds team from AUT, Cawthron and PhD student Jessica Roach met with Te Atiawa o Upoko a Maui Poteke (fisheries) trust – a trust of Te Atiawa, one of the maihn iwi from the Wellington and Taranaki regions. Jessica, (being from the Te Atiawa from the Taranaki area, Paul South from Cawthron and Program Lead Prof Lindsey White discussed the potential to collect Durvillaea spp. samples from the South Coast of Wellington. The team met with Dr. Mark Fenwick, member of the Trust Board, and Scientist at NIWA in Wellington and toured the South Coast to identify potential locations for collection of Durvillaea samples. The team look forward to ongoing collaboration and discussion of future potential to co-locate seaweed farming with offshore wind developments in the Taranaki area.

Attached pic – From left – Jessica Roach (PhD student), Cam Keen (MSc student) and Dr. Mark Fenwick (Te Atiawa and NIWA)