About the Santa Barbara Mariculture Farm

Santa Barbara Mariculture’s Farm is situated about 3/4-mile off of Hope Ranch near Santa Barbara California. The ocean's depth at the farm is approximately 80 feet and the shellfish are grown utilizing submersible long-lines originally developed by the Japanese. The mussels are grown using a New Zealand style of rope culture.  In fact, much of the equipment is imported from New Zealand.  Why ship mussels 8,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean when you can easily grow them here?

Our mission is ultimately to enrich the quality of life in our community. The farm was conceived and developed to produce top quality seafood without endangering or degrading the surrounding environment.

The open ocean is viewed as the last frontier for agricultural development, and Santa Barbara Mariculture plans to be on the forefront of this movement. For the past decade,  aquaculture has been and will be meeting the demands for the increasing consumption of seafood in the United States. We have studied the success and failures of past endeavors and are developing our own methodologies. Our techniques are simple and straight forward. We only grow species that can thrive in the environment without damaging it. No chemicals, feeds, or fresh water are added that would alter the balance of the ecology. We do not exclude large mammals nor do we harm the ocean floor like traditional farms.  We view our farm as a superior model of food production as opposed to growing food on land.

Santa Babara Mariculture harvests and produces quality seafood from our local waters. Through community awareness and education, we believe we can make a difference in how people understand farming of the ocean. Farms are essential to the conservation of the planet and development of our civilization.  Simply put, Santa Barbara Mariculture is the future farm of America.