On Call Kelp Thrower

About The Cultured Abalone Farm: Our farm was first established in 1989 and sits on the historic Rancho Dos Pueblos on the Gaviota coast of Santa Barbara County. We raise the native red abalone, Haliotis rufescens, through their entire life cycle from spawning and larval rearing in our on‑site hatchery to the harvest and delivery of live market‑size abalone. We are proud of our enduring dedication to the stewardship and sustainable farming practices that have earned our farmed abalone the coveted green rating from Seafood Watch and we continue to strive to help restore abalone to its rightful place as an iconic California seafood.

The Cultured Abalone Farm is seeking hard‑working individuals to assist with feeding fresh harvested kelp to our 1 million red abalone and thousands of ranched purple sea urchins.

This is a manual‑labor position that involves getting wet and dirty. It is part‑time, on‑call, and should amount to no more than 12 hours per week.

Kelp Throwers take fresh‑cut kelp (Macrosystis) from a large pile, load it into a wheelbarrow and then distribute it into approximately 450 abalone and urchin tanks.

• Ability to lift 50 pounds above your head
• Ability to perform physical labor for up to 8 hours
• Comfortability with getting wet and dirty
• Ability to follow direction and work independently
• Reliable transportation to TCAF (~20 min West of SBCC, ~10 min West UCSB)
• Spanish‑speaking skills a plus

$16.90/hour

Due to variable ocean conditions, there is no set weekly feeding schedule, meaning this role will be on‑call and as needed. We will try to give as much scheduling notice at the beginning of the week, however cannot guarantee more than a 12‑hour notice of when Kelp Throwers will be needed.

We are seeking applicants who are available for chunks of time Monday‑Thursday 7:00 am - 3:30 pm. If you have consistent availability on these days we encourage you to apply.

If you are interested in applying, please send a short cover letter and resume to  with “Kelp Thrower” in the subject line by January 25, 2026. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The ideal candidate would be available to start February 2026.