The ropes were transferred to the s

The ropes were transferred to the sea monthly from May (autumn) to October (spring) 2007. Every month, 20 ropes were prepared and transferred to the long-line system for each type of cultivation (indirect and direct). Every 30 days, all ropes were retrieved from the sea and weighed individually (wet weight) in order to record the total biomass (kg m.1; n=20). In addition, one individual sporophyte was randomly selected from each rope (n=20) and the maximum length (cm) recorded. The final lengths and total produced biomass were analyzed separately using two-way ANOVA in order to evaluate the effects of both systems and the time of cultivation (month of seeding). Prior to the analyses, the data were tested for normality and homoscedasticity. Any differences were then examined using the Tukeyfs post hoc test.