originate further south on the large intertidal radial mudflat in the Jiangsu Province
where they find favorable conditions, enriched by nutrients discharges from coastal
land-based animal aquaculture, before developing into green tides (Liu et al. 2013).
In mid-1990s, Coastal Plantations International attempted to cultivate Pyropia
(Porphyra) in the open waters of Maine, USA (Chopin et al. 1999; McVey et al.
2002) but was unsuccessful for economic and managerial reasons. More recently,
Porphyra umbilicalis cultivation in Maine has been taken up by Brawley and her
colleagues (Blouin et al. 2011). A seaweed manual has been published for seedstock production of Pyropia/Porphyra in the USA (Redmond et al. 2014) with
accompanying videos in English. However, Pyropia/Porphyra cultivation is still in
its nascent stage in North America and Europe commercial enterprises. Therefore, it
is critical to develop local cultivars and cultivation techniques suitable for the local
environments and boutique markets. Selective breeding (intra-specific and
inter-specific) of cultivated Pyropia/Porphyra has been intensively studied in Asia
(Miura 1984; Shin 1999, 2003; Niwa et al. 2009). Genetic improvement has
resulted in superior strains with higher growth rates, better flavor, darker color and
higher tolerance to diseases (Chen et al. 2014).
Since 1880, Earth’s average surface temperature has risen by about 0.8 °C and
the majority of that warming has occurred in the past three decades (NASA 2015).
Recently, NASA and NOAA reported that 2014 ranks as Earth’s warmest year
since 1880. The 10 warmest years since records were registered, have occurred
since 2000, with the exception of 1998. Therefore, development of new strains with
high thermo-tolerances will be necessary for the development of a sustainable
seaweed aquaculture industry. With current technology, six to eight harvests can be
obtained from the same nets during one growing season. Expansion of the growing
season by using new strains will, therefore, result in higher production for growers.
These current and developing cultivation technologies for Porphyra/Pyropia can be
used for offshore cultivations. Simulation programs such as the hydrodynamic
simulation program ANSYS-AQWA are useful tools to analyze the dynamic
characteristics of a seaweed culture system (Lee et al. 2013).
2.5.2 Brown Seaweeds
2.5.2.1 Saccharina and Undaria
Kelps have been utilized mostly for human consumption, but recently it’s been
increasingly utilized as abalone feed thanks to relatively low production cost
(Hwang et al. 2013). For example, over 60% of the total production of Saccharina
and Undaria in the Republic of Korea was used in the abalone industry in 2012.
In western countries, kelp species (primarily the sugar kelp, Saccharina latissima)
have been cultivated during the last two decades in the Atlantic Ocean (e.g. USA,
30
B.H. Buck et al.
where they find favorable conditions, enriched by nutrients discharges from coastal
land-based animal aquaculture, before developing into green tides (Liu et al. 2013).
In mid-1990s, Coastal Plantations International attempted to cultivate Pyropia
(Porphyra) in the open waters of Maine, USA (Chopin et al. 1999; McVey et al.
2002) but was unsuccessful for economic and managerial reasons. More recently,
Porphyra umbilicalis cultivation in Maine has been taken up by Brawley and her
colleagues (Blouin et al. 2011). A seaweed manual has been published for seedstock production of Pyropia/Porphyra in the USA (Redmond et al. 2014) with
accompanying videos in English. However, Pyropia/Porphyra cultivation is still in
its nascent stage in North America and Europe commercial enterprises. Therefore, it
is critical to develop local cultivars and cultivation techniques suitable for the local
environments and boutique markets. Selective breeding (intra-specific and
inter-specific) of cultivated Pyropia/Porphyra has been intensively studied in Asia
(Miura 1984; Shin 1999, 2003; Niwa et al. 2009). Genetic improvement has
resulted in superior strains with higher growth rates, better flavor, darker color and
higher tolerance to diseases (Chen et al. 2014).
Since 1880, Earth’s average surface temperature has risen by about 0.8 °C and
the majority of that warming has occurred in the past three decades (NASA 2015).
Recently, NASA and NOAA reported that 2014 ranks as Earth’s warmest year
since 1880. The 10 warmest years since records were registered, have occurred
since 2000, with the exception of 1998. Therefore, development of new strains with
high thermo-tolerances will be necessary for the development of a sustainable
seaweed aquaculture industry. With current technology, six to eight harvests can be
obtained from the same nets during one growing season. Expansion of the growing
season by using new strains will, therefore, result in higher production for growers.
These current and developing cultivation technologies for Porphyra/Pyropia can be
used for offshore cultivations. Simulation programs such as the hydrodynamic
simulation program ANSYS-AQWA are useful tools to analyze the dynamic
characteristics of a seaweed culture system (Lee et al. 2013).
2.5.2 Brown Seaweeds
2.5.2.1 Saccharina and Undaria
Kelps have been utilized mostly for human consumption, but recently it’s been
increasingly utilized as abalone feed thanks to relatively low production cost
(Hwang et al. 2013). For example, over 60% of the total production of Saccharina
and Undaria in the Republic of Korea was used in the abalone industry in 2012.
In western countries, kelp species (primarily the sugar kelp, Saccharina latissima)
have been cultivated during the last two decades in the Atlantic Ocean (e.g. USA,
30
B.H. Buck et al.