Aquaculture of Sarcothalia atropurpurea tetraspores in New Zealand for carrageenan production

The endemic red seaweed Sarcothalia atropurpurea is a potentially valuable source of carrageenan, but no information is available on growing this species as a crop in New Zealand. Tetraspores released from wild-harvested reproductive thalli were settled onto strings and grown initially in tanks under two different day-lengths. Seeded strings were transplanted to open water at 2, 6 and 10 weeks after spore release. Gametophytic biomass was harvested twice by pruning plants approximately six and nine months after spore release. Sporeling length was correlated with day length during tank culture but these differences were not apparent after a period of open-water culture. Spores cultured with medium day-length for 6-10 weeks before transfer to open water grew into harvestable plants that contained similar amounts and types of carrageenan to that from wild material. These results demonstrate for the first time that aquaculture of gametophytic S. atropurpurea from tetraspores is possible.