Abstract
We attempted to develop a tank culture method for growing Sagarame Eisenia arborea by using deep seawater from Suruga Bay; For this purpose, we employed the mass-culture method using free-living sporophytes. Five experimental setups were created in the laboratory; the sporophytes were cultured at various cultivation densities (1.65-4.80 kg/kL) and had leaves of various blade lengths (19-50 mm). They were grown in polycarbonate tanks of 0.1 kL, 0.5 kL and 1 kL volume under natural daylight conditions for 28-48 days. Blade lengths and wet weights of all the culture samples under different setups were found to have increased, and the wet weights of cultures in each setup increased by 3.55-7.62 kg. Cultivation densities and the relative growth rates in blade lengths or wet weights showed negative linear correlations (blade length: y=-0.40x+3.81, r=0.64, p<0.05; wet weight: y=-0.73x+9.66, r=0.79, p<0.01) under same daily light quantity level. On the basis of these results, we think that tank culture of this kelp species with a high growth rate is possible if it is cultured at the density of 2 kg/kL or less.
