Penmon Seaweed Hatchery
PEBL facilities in March 2021.
In the winter of 2020 we established Wales' first purpose-built seaweed hatchery facility at Dinmor Quarry, Penmon Point, Anglesey. The facility was entirely powered by an off-grid solar-battery installation, with natural seawater pumped directly from the foreshore into a purification system that removed unwanted contaminants while retaining the natural micronutrients and minerals needed for early-stage seaweed growth.
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The seawater was distributed into a series of WRAS-approved cultivation tanks where temperature, light, nutrient levels and aeration were precisely controlled. The hatchery produced high-quality seaweed seedlings, inoculated onto aquaculture-grade cultivation twine or offered for direct seeding using binder, with a year-round capacity of 24,000m of twine every 6 weeks. The design and installation of this facility was supported through the Innovate UK Sustainable Innovation Fund.
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We discontinued this seedling supply work in 2024, as there wasn't enough take-up from seaweed farms in the UK to make it a viable operation. The facilities are still in use today, however, now supporting PEBL's monitoring research, and have since been relocated to South Wales.
50m of Sugar Kelp seedlings on twine as delivered to a seaweed farm
Cultivation tanks in the seaweed hatchery
Fertile Sugar Kelp segments prior to seedling induction
Kelp seeding spools in cultivation tanks in week 1
Kelp spools after 4 weeks of cultivation
Seedlings on Twine
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While active, PEBL offered seedlings on twine for Sugar Kelp (Saccharina Latissima), Winged Kelp (Alaria Esculenta) and Oarweed (Laminaria Digitata). Seedlings came in 50m spools wrapped around 75mm-diameter PVC pipe, collected from the hatchery or shipped by overnight courier in a temperature-controlled container, and could be kept viable for up to 5 days if maintained at the correct temperature.
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Direct Seeding Using Binder
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Direct seeding emerged as a faster, cost-effective alternative to twine seeding, applying seedlings directly onto rope with a biocompatible binder and extending the storage window to up to 10 days. PEBL trialled direct seeding from 2021 for Sugar Kelp and Winged Kelp, with promising results.
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This seedling supply and direct seeding service is no longer available. See the note above for details of PEBL's current focus.