Binder seeding to improve the economic case of UK macroalgal cultivation (Bindweed)

在英国，大型藻类养殖作为水产养殖业的出现落后于我们的许多邻国，如挪威、法国、西班牙和爱尔兰。种植用于食品的大型藻类是有利可图的，并且在英国和整个欧洲都存在着巨大的未满足的市场潜力。目前，由于苗木移栽等活动需要大量人工，该行业仅限于小型种植者。Bindweed项目旨在将最近的研究成果转化为一种创新的新技术，为最终用户大幅降低大型藻类外植的成本。目前的技术水平是人工缠绕带着孵化场饲养的幼鱼的绳索。Bindweed方法，将幼年巨藻嵌入水胶体基质中，然后可以直接应用于培养基质。传统上在孵化场中饲养几周的幼鱼在粘合剂基质中保存足够长的时间，以便在粘合剂降解之前直接附着在基质上。Bindweed方法有望a)将孵化场培养的空间效率提高100倍，b)将部署速度提高至少3倍，c)可以机械化/自动化用于更大规模的使用，进一步提高效率。在学术试验中，粘结剂法产生的大型藻类的产量与缠绕法相当或更高，但粘结剂法是不可靠的。粘结剂方法的成功似乎与最初植出时的物理化学条件有关，最明显的是由波浪和/或潮汐引起的水运动。在目前的配方中，高水流运动的剪切导致粘合剂在幼苗能够附着之前降解，导致作物歉收或播种密度降低。Bindweed项目将通过四个相互连接的工作包（WP）来解决目前的不可靠性问题，这些工作包将通过结合实验室测试、现场监测和现场实验，将粘合剂的技术准备等级从6级提高到8级，从而为最终的经济评估提供信息。WP1将通过在受控流动环境（生物水槽）中重复试验，优化粘合剂/材料/流动的相互作用。新的粘结剂配方（成分、粘度和厚度）将面临不同流动机制的挑战，并与旨在提高幼苗保留率的新型栽培基质相结合。在四个大型藻养殖地点进行的环境监测，将会为水槽研究中水流模式的选择提供信息，这些地点受到西九龙二号潮汐和波浪驱动水流的不同影响。将详细描述表层（适合种植）内的流动环境，以解决用于评估种植项目地点适用性的传统监测和建模工具的局限性。表面流量测量，以及其他测量的物理化学条件，包括光、温度、营养物质、pH值和溶解氧，将用于支持现有的建模工具，以更好地为选址过程提供信息。在WP3中，将在四个栽培地点进行外植试验，以确认所建议的优化粘合剂配方和基质（来自WP1）在现实世界中的适用性。将与WP3同时监测移栽成功率和增长率。在WP4中，经济分析将对粘合剂播种创新与标准麻绳播种方法进行比较，以展示通过融合学术和工业知识创造的项目的有形经济效益。这将与SWOT分析相结合，为英国种植者创造一个决策工具。

The emergence of macroalgal cultivation as an aquaculture industry in the UK lags behind many of our neighbours such as Norway, France, Spain and Ireland. Cultivation of macroalgae for food products is profitable and there exists a large unmet market potential, both within the UK and across Europe. Currently, the industry is limited to small-scale cultivators due to the large manual requirement for activities such as outplanting of seedstock. The project Bindweed aims to translate and refine recent research into an innovative new technology that will substantially reduce the cost of macroalgal outplanting for end-users.The current state of the art involves manually winding twine carrying hatchery reared juveniles around longline ropes. The Bindweed method, embeds juvenile macroalgae within a hydrocolloid matrix which can then be directly applied onto cultivation substrates. Juveniles which would traditionally be maintained in the hatchery for several weeks are held in the binder matrix for long enough to allow attachment directly to the substrate before the binder degrades. The Bindweed method is expected to a) increase the space-efficiency of hatchery cultivation 100 times, b) increase the speed of deployment by at least 3 times and c) could be mechanised/automated for use at larger scales further increasing efficiency. In academic trials, the binder method produces a comparable or higher yield of macroalgae than twine, yet the binder method is unreliable. Success of the binder method appears to be related to the physicochemical conditions during initial outplanting, most notably water motion created by waves and/or tides. In the current formulation, shear from high water motion results in the degradation of the binder before the juveniles are able to attach, causing crop failures or reduced seeding densities. The Bindweed project will address the current unreliability through four inter-connected work packages (WP) which will develop the binder from Technological Readiness level 6 to 8 by combining laboratory testing, field monitoring and field experimentation to inform a final economic assessment. WP1 will optimise the binder/material /flow interaction through replicated trials within a controlled flow environment (biological flume). New binder formulations (composition, viscosity and thickness) will be challenged with different flow regimes and combined with novel cultivation substrates aimed at improving retention of juvenile plants. The selection of the flow regimes trailed within flume studies will be informed by environmental monitoring at four macroalgal cultivation sites with different influences of tidal and wave driven flow in WP2. The flow environment within the surface layers (suitable for cultivation) will be characterised in detail to address limitations in traditional monitoring and modelling tools used to assess site suitability for cultivation projects. Surface flow measurements, along with other measured physicochemical conditions including light, temperature, nutrients, pH, and dissolved oxygen will be used to support existing modelling tools to better inform the site selection process. In WP3, outplanting trials at the four cultivation sites will be used to confirm the suitability of the proposed optimised binder formulation and substrate (from WP1) in the real-world. Outplanting success and growth rates will be monitored in parallel with WP3. In WP4, an economic analysis will compare the binder seeding innovation compared to the standard twine seeding method to demonstrate the tangible economic benefits of the project created through the fusion of academic and industrial knowledge. This will be combined with a SWOT analysis, to create a decision tool for UK cultivators.