Two novel farming strains of Saccharina japonica, named as “202” and “205”, have been bred by the scientists of IOCAS (Prof. S.J. Pang's team, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences). This research was supported by the National Special Research Fund for Non-Profit Sector (Agriculture), and the Knowledge Innovation Programs of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

These two algal strains were firstly tried in large scale in Sanggou bay from 2011 to 2012 and were proved to be successful. On 6-7 June, 2012, Prof. Song Sun, the IOCAS director, made an on-the-spot visit in Songgou bay in Shandong Province, one of the principal Saccharina farming bay in the world. On 8 June, 2012, the Office of Agricultural Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences organized professionals and made on-site evaluation and measurements of the two strains. The novel farming strains of S. japonica, “202” and “205”, are characterized with several advantages in comparison with other farming cultivars, including high production (dry weight), excellent color after sun-dried process, high contents of iodine and alginate acid and resistant to relative high temperature in early summer. These two farming strains are expected to replace other conventional cultivars in the coming years in this region.