An $8 million federal government grant program aimed at accelerating Australia’s seaweed industry has delivered new research capability, production infrastructure and international collaboration to support commercial growth of Asparagopsis, the methane-inhibiting seaweed used in livestock feed supplements.
Methane from livestock digestion accounts for 71 per cent of Australia’s agricultural emissions and 13 per cent of national emissions, according to the latest National Inventory Report. Increasing production of Asparagopsis is seen as a key pathway to lowering the sector’s footprint.
Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Policy Group deputy secretary, Matt Lowe, said the Developing Australia’s Seaweed Farming Grant Program is expected to deliver long-term economic and environmental benefits.
“It is reducing barriers to investment and supporting research expertise and capability of the nascent Australian seaweed industry,” Lowe said.
“The program is rapidly increasing the production of methane-inhibiting seaweed for the benefit of our growers, our consumers, our scientists and researchers and, ultimately, our planet.”
The two-year program funded the temporary establishment of a National Hatchery Network (NHN) at James Cook University in Queensland and the South Australian Research and Development Institute. The network refined hatchery and cultivation techniques, and released new technical guidance for industry, including a hatchery manual and production reports.
Ten research, development and extension projects were supported across:
- market analysis and economic modelling;
- carbon credit pathways;
- value-chain innovation;
- industry governance; and
- the development of online databases and portals to link industry, researchers and producers.
Funding also supported the 2025 Seagriculture Asia-Pacific Conference hosted by the Australian Sustainable Seaweed Alliance (ASSA) in Adelaide, and an industry delegation to South Korea to examine world-leading seaweed-farming operations.
Delivered by ASSA and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, the program began in June 2023.
“The program delivered groundbreaking research and development outcomes and built a strong foundation for the seaweed industry that will benefit the economy, climate, farmers and communities across Australia into the future,” Lowe said.
The grant program coincides with growing private-sector investment in seaweed-based ingredients and livestock supplements.
In November, Western Australian company SeaStock secured a $740,000 matched co-investment with the Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA) to develop new functional ingredients from Australian seaweed.
Tasmanian biotech Sea Forest, the first company globally to cultivate Asparagopsis at scale, recently signed an exclusive long-term distribution agreement with Netherlands-based Orffa to supply its methane-reducing livestock feed supplement into the European Union.
