Welcome
What is Asparagopsis armata?
Asparagopsis armata is a red seaweed native to the cool waters of Australia’s southern coastline.
Perfectly adapted to its rugged environment, asparagopsis is nurtured by the strong winds and swell churned up by the Southern Ocean and frequent rock ledges and beaches.
Farming
Seaweed as a Farmer's Best Friend
Asparagopsis armata and its sister species taxiformis produce high doses of a compound known as bromoform. Bromoform blocks an enzyme that produces gut methane in livestock, particularly cattle and sheep.
A recent US study found livestock that consume asparagopsis supplement excrete up to 80% less methane.
Propogation
Propogating Asparagopsis in Victorian Waters
Immersion Group is delivering the first project in Victoria to propagate Asparagopsis commercially.
The project began in March 2021 and the team is currently establishing an Asparagopsis armata nursery in the Grassy Point Aquaculture Fisheries Reserve near Portarlington on Port Phillip Bay.
Meet the Team
Scott Elliott, CEO
Jean-Yves Moigne, Aquaculture
Dr John Statton, Science
Scott brings global experience as an environmental scientist, project manager and communicator. He led the Corner Inlet Broadleaf Seagrass Restoration Project, one of the largest marine habitat restoration projects on earth. Scott was formerly an environmental management consultant (carbon auditor) and stakeholder engagement professiona
Scott brings global experience as an environmental scientist, project manager and communicator. He led the Corner Inlet Broadleaf Seagrass Restoration Project, one of the largest marine habitat restoration projects on earth. Scott was formerly an environmental management consultant (carbon auditor) and stakeholder engagement professional with engineering firms: GHD and Jacobs and consulted to the World Bank. Prior to consulting, he was a journalist with the Australian Financial Review. Scott is also a fifth-generation sheep farmer in Victoria, managing two properties.
Dr John Statton, Science
Jean-Yves Moigne, Aquaculture
Dr John Statton, Science
Dr Statton from the University of Western Australia is at the forefront of asparagopsis propagation and marine restoration activities in Australia. For over 20 years’ John has fine-tuned his approach to aquaculture for seagrasses and more recently, seaweed species. John is leading a major project to cultivate Asparagopsis taxiformis across multiple aquaculture leases in Western Australia.
Jean-Yves Moigne, Aquaculture
Jean-Yves Moigne, Aquaculture
Jean-Yves Moigne, Aquaculture
Jean-Yves is the world's leading authority for commercial aquaculture of Asparagopsis armata. Jean-Yves has been growing Asparagopsis in France since the early 1990s.
As a scientist, he has worked to extract important trace elements from Asparagopsis for use in the cosmetic sector.
His understanding of Asparagopsis aquaculture and on-shore production is unmatched in Australia
What is Asparagopsis armata?
More than algae
Asparagopsis armata is a red seaweed native to the cool waters of Australia’s southern coastline. Perfectly adapted to its rugged environment, asparagopsis is nurtured by the strong winds and swell churned up by the Southern Ocean and frequent rock ledges and beaches.
Indigenous Australians from Victoria and South Australia have been using seaweeds for millenia as a building material, clothing, for fishing, shelter, medicinal uses and in ceremonial practices.
Europeans first noticed the potential of Asapragopsis armata in 1855, when a British botanist named Harvey observed the species in abundance during a trip to Western Australia.
Since then it has been documented along Victoria’s coastline from Portland to Gabo Island in Gippsland.
Today Asparagopsis armata is emerging as one of the most important seaweeds on the planet for its potential to reduce carbon emissions from sheep and cattle and boost livestock productivity.
Asparagopsis armata: A Farmer's Best Friend
The Co-Benefits of Asparagopsis as a feed supplement
Asparagopsis armata and its sister species taxiformis produce high doses of a compound known as bromoform. Bromoform blocks an enzyme that produces gut methane in livestock, particularly cattle and sheep. A recent study from the US found livestock that consume asparagopsis supplement excrete up to 80% less methane.
Red seaweed as a supplement could have a profound impact on our agricultural sector given direct emissions from livestock account for about 10% of Australia’s overall carbon footprint.
Production bump
Asparagopsis has another ace up its sleeve in the form of a production bump for livestock. A farmer named Joe Dorgan from Prince Edward Island in Canada first noticed that cows on his property that grazed seaweed performed better in terms of pregnancy, milk production, weight gain and suffered less from mastitis compared to his cows in the highlands.
Adding scientific weight to farmer Joe’s observations, a controlled study undertaken in an Australian feedlot by the CSIRO found the average daily weight gain for cattle (steers) fed asparagopsis increased between 22-26% over a 90 day period.
