State-of-the-art SA facility launches to help fast-track $100 million seaweed industry of the future as global climate leaders meet

ADELAIDE, Australia 5 December 2023

As climate leaders gather in Dubai this week for COP28, a strategically important hi-tech aquaculture facility launches locally today in South Australia to turbo-charge the growth of a sustainable seaweed aquaculture industry.

The facility, just north of Adelaide’s Glenelg Beach, including dedicated scientific lab space, new high tech research equipment and specialist outdoor seaweed growing areas, is a key part of a new National Hatchery Network (NHN) which will be rolled out across strategic coastal locations around Australia.

The Adelaide facility is one of two pivotal scientific research hubs, with a second to soon launch in Townsville, Queensland.

Both sites are situated near to the ocean in locations where Asparagopsis occurs naturally. Asparagopsis is a native seaweed that has been prioritised for rapid research development and cultivation scale up due to its methane-reducing properties in livestock. The new Adelaide hub is a shared facility jointly operated by the newly formed industry leadership group, the Australian Sustainable Seaweed Alliance (ASSA) and the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), where the hub is housed.

The aim of the facility is to support the emerging seaweed industry by filling significant gaps in knowledge and other challenges to growth that were identified following a year-long review.

“The NHN has been identified as having the potential to fast-track production and support current and emerging growers by providing the scientific capability to take the industry to the next level,” said Chair of ASSA, Jo Kelly.

The Adelaide hub has been specifically selected to grow the temperate zone Asparagopsis species and the Townsville hub for the tropical species.

The facility will also employ a team of dedicated ASSA researchers headed up by new ASSA team member and Senior Marine Researcher, Jo Lane, to carry out advanced seaweed growing experiments in SARDI’s cutting-edge laboratory, with the new ASSA team to work together with a dedicated SARDI research team.

Dr Margie Rule, a senior phycologist and ASSA’s NHN Program Manager, welcomed Ms Lane’s arrival in Adelaide this week to join the new NHN hub.

“Many growers said they were being held back by a lack of access to basic cultivation (or growing) information and expertise. Other technical issues included contamination of cultures, hatchery design and technology needs and seeding methodology. The NHN through these hubs aims to alleviate this, by fostering research and creating an environment to draft and share information,” said Dr Rule.

“This cutting-edge new Adelaide hub will facilitate sector-wide collaboration, represents an important investment in the future of science in South Australia, and is bringing jobs to the State,” Dr Rule continued.

These key Asparagopsis hatcheries will help companies to grow seaweed supply with the aim to help the Australian Government meet their important methane emissions reduction targets and lay the foundational groundwork for a wider network for other seaweed species to be integrated or fast tracked by replicating this process.

The Adelaide NHN program is being delivered by ASSA and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) through Federal Government funding, with support and collaboration from key South Australian methane-reduction businesses and ASSA members CH4 Global and CleanEyre Global.

The Australian seaweed industry growth aims to achieve $100 million in GVP (Gross Value Production) and 1,200 jobs over the coming years, with the foundations now in place for a sustainable $1.5 billion industry set to deliver 9,000 new local jobs by 2040. To find out more about ASSA visit www.seaweedalliance.org.au

MEDIA CONTACT

Daniela Iacono - Horizon Communication Group - Daniela@horizoncg.com.au - 0439 083 869

About ASSA

ASSA is the peak body for the commercial seaweed industry in Australia made up of 10 corporate members across six states. ASSA’s mission is to scale up environmentally responsible commercial farming of seaweed to provide food, feed and bioproducts ASSA provides a coordinated voice for the seaweed industry and helps grow the industry sustainably. ASSA’s founding partners are CH4 Global, the University of Tasmania, FutureFeed and the Australian Seaweed institute. www.seaweedalliance.org.au