When looking for potential ways to help feed and fuel our future amidst a growing population and limited natural resources, seaweed biomass production offers many opportunities. Seaweed mariculture does not use earth's arable land, freshwater, or artificial nutrients, while absorbing excess nutrients and carbon from the ocean. It has the potential to remediate so-called "dead-zones" from eutrophication in areas of the planet where this is a problem , and counter ocean acidification at local scales .
Kampachi Farms is pioneering seaweed culture methods for offshore tropical waters, with a demonstration project on track to be deployed one nautical mile off the coast of Hawai' i Island in 2020. Challenges include the nutrient-limited nature of tropical surface waters; offshore depths rendering fixed grid or multiple point mooring arrays too expensive; and expensive labor for harvesting. This presentation will focus on the selection of suitable native Hawaiian seaweed species to grow on the offshore demonstration project for foods, feeds, and biofuels .
After a year of land-based experimental trials, we propose three species candidates: Caulerpa lentillifera , Gracilaria parvispora, and Sargassum aquifolium for the offshore demonstration. Results will be discussed from light trials conducted to determine optimal water depth; nutrient trials to determine growth rates using nutrient- rich deep sea water; and successful sexual reproduction of Sargassum aquifolium that our team has performed in the hatchery.