Algae Addition Protocol

One might think that it would be difficult to get algae to stay in place once quantified, but we have developed a protocol that seems to do the job.... well, at least for a couple of low tides when we can still see what's going on. The key is to get rid of the air bubbles lodged in the algae. After these are gone, it becomes negatively buoyant, and hopefully a significant amount is retained within the corral by the structure itself, and the eelgrass shoots. There are a couple of key moves to employ, and best be on top of these as soon as the tide starts to flood!





The initial Poke-Down (using bamboo spears) gets out most of the air bubbles, and we trap some of the algae by pinning it down in the sediment with the spears. This move is followed by the...



Shimy Shake. See Wyatt's manual force-down using his bare hands. See also Sea-oh's poke-down/half twist manoeuver. Seda (back right), is using the individual poke for find-tuning.

The Final Fling occurs when the tide is over the top of the corral structure. At this point its important to keep proding the algae, while at the same time flinging escaped algae back into the corral. Don't get me wrong, we can't get to every little fragment of ulvoid, but we can keep most of it at bay. It especially likes to accumulate in the back corners of the corral where it is pushed by the incoming tide. It tries to escape here, but using the Final Fling, you can make sure it stays where its meant to be. Usually, at this time, I am still final flinging while the rest of the crew has given up and has headed for high ground. I call it quits once I feel like I can do no more to help out the macroalgae addition treatment, or the allure of the coffee shop wins me over.