DTU Aqua is going to cultivate dulse and sugar kelp at different water depths at Kriegers Flak to examine the interaction between seaweed species as well as the length of the seedlings at the time of deployment. Therefore, in the seaweed hatchery of DTU, ropes inoculated with microscopic dulse spores (see Image 1) have slowly sprouted into small red algae (see Image 2). During the sprouting process, DTU has gradually lowered the salinity of the seawater in the tanks where the ropes are kept. This is done to acclimate the seedlings slowly to the low salinity in the water at Kriegers Flak (8-9 parts per thousand). The testing is looking positive as the dulse continues to grow under the dim light in the sprouting tanks. It will be fascinating to see how they thrive under natural light conditions at Kriegers Flak offshore wind farm.

Currently, we have produced dulse seedlings on ropes of two different lengths, which are ready to meet the sea at Kriegers Flak as part of the WIN@Sea project.