Growth of the commercial carrageenophyte Sarcothalia crispata (Rhodophyta, Gigartinales) on suspended culture in central Chile

Laboratory and field studies on growth of Sarcothalia crispata, whichis one of the most important carrageenophytes of Chile, were made in toassess its viability and growth in a system of suspended culture. Invitro experiments on the survival of the germlings and on the effect oftemperature and irradiance on its growth allowed to determine the besttemperature and irradiance for seeding polypropylene culture ropes inindoors conditions. The growth of plants developed on ropes at threedepths in Coliumo Bay (central Chile) supports the idea that it is feasiblebiologically to manage the resource via aquaculture. Fouling and epiphyteswere the main problem at the experimental site. The results suggest thatmaintaining the cultures in deeper water during summer could minimize thisproblem.