Aquaculture America 2026

February 16 - 19, 2026

Las Vegas, Nevada

Add To Calendar 18/02/2026 16:45:0018/02/2026 17:05:00America/Los_AngelesAquaculture America 2026FROM HATCHERY TO HARVEST: EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT HATCHERY ENVIRONMENTS THROUGHOUT THE BULL KELP Nereocystis luetkeana LIFECYCLEConcorde AThe World Aquaculture Societyjohnc@was.orgfalseDD/MM/YYYYanrl65yqlzh3g1q0dme13067

FROM HATCHERY TO HARVEST: EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT HATCHERY ENVIRONMENTS THROUGHOUT THE BULL KELP Nereocystis luetkeana LIFECYCLE

  • Dr. Angela Korabik*

700 New England Cannery Rd

Prince William Sound Science Center,

Cordova, AK, USA

akorabik@pwssc.org

  • Dr. Mike Stekoll, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Juneau, AK, USA
  • Jan Conitz, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Juneau, AK, USA
  • Tamsen Peeples, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Juneau, AK, USA
  • Dr. Veronica Farrugia Drakard, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
  • Lexa Meyer, Alaska Ocean Farms, Kodiak, AK, USA
  • Alf Pryor, Alaska Ocean Farms, Kodiak, AK, USA
  • Chloe Ivanoff, Kelp Island Alaska, Kodiak, AK, USA
  • Olivia Duner, Sea Quester Farms, Juneau, AK, USA
  • Jonny Antoni, Sea Quester Farms, Juneau, AK, USA
  • Dr. Alix Laferriere, NOAA AFSC, Kodiak, AK, USA
  • Jessica Kamman, NOAA AFSC, Kodiak, AK, USA

 



While the abiotic limits of bull kelp growth at the microscopic stage are somewhat understood, there is still much to understand about how different hatchery conditions may affect the final growth and yield of seaweed farms at harvest. This experiment aimed to assess how varying light and temperature levels affect bull kelp growth both in the hatchery and on the farm. Seed string was cultured under three different temperatures (5°C, 8°C, 11°C) and 4 different light levels (constant 30 μmol photon·m-2·s-1, constant 60 μmol photon·m-2·s-1, increasing from 30 to 60 μmol photon·m-2·s-1, increasing from 20 to 60 μmol photon·m-2·s-1) for two months at the NOAA Kodiak Lab and UAF Point Lena Laboratory. We outplanted the cultured seedstring on two farms in Kodiak and Juneau to determine how exposure to different abiotic conditions in the hatchery stage affect the adult stage of kelp and harvest outputs. Hatchery stage results indicate that higher light (60 μmol photon·m-2·s-1) and temperature (11°C) conditions increase growth rates of bull kelp. On the farm, however, we witnessed a potentially beneficial effect of culturing bull kelp at low temperatures (5°C). This study provides a novel understanding of bull kelp growth and development over its entire life cycle.